University of Tennessee Athletics
XC CENTRAL: 2015 SEC Championships
October 28, 2015 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee cross country teams head to College Station, Texas, this week to compete in the 2015 SEC Cross Country Championships on Friday, Oct. 30, at Dale Watts Cross Country Course.
2015 SEC Cross Country Championships
More Info
- When: Friday, Oct. 30, 2015
- Race Times: Men's 8K - 11 a.m. ET, Women's 6K - Noon ET
- Where: Dale Watts Cross Country Course (College Station, Texas)
- Live Results: Flash Results
- TV: SEC Network - Nov. 8, 12:30 p.m. ET(Post-produced)
Tennessee Notables
Chelsea Blaase - Senior
Blaase is an All-American and has posted a pair of top-three finishes in her two races this season. She placed third at last year's SEC Championships and has improved her finish each year. Check out this special VFL Films feature on Blaase.
Walter is coming off of a PR 8K performance (24:29.40) at Pre-Nationals in Louisville and has his sights on an All-SEC finish at the league meet. He finished 23rd at the 2014 SEC Championships and has made major strides over the last year.
Tennessee Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan is excited for Friday's league meet, which will feature UT's seniors shooting for the SECs top prizes and freshmen competing in their first conference races.
"I love the league competition," Sullivan said. "I love the true element of cross country of just 'gun, run and you're done.' So you've just got to get out there and have some true grit beat people. It's really and truly head-to-head."
The men's 8K race will start at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET and the women's 6K race will start at 11 a.m. CT/noon ET. The SEC awards ceremony will follow the conclusion of the women's race.
Admission to the 2015 SEC Cross Country Championships is free and open to the public.
SEC Network will air the Championships on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 12:30 p.m. ET.
On the women's side, senior All-American Chelsea Blaase will be in the hunt for the individual crown. Blaase has emerged as one of the nation's best runners over the last two years and has improved her finishes in each of her previous SEC Championships. As a freshman in 2012, she finished 81st. In 2013, she took 10th and last year she placed third.
Blaase has a pair of top-three finishes in the two races she has competed in this year, winning the Greater Louisville Classic 5K Blue Race (17:04.50) and taking third at the Pre-Nationals 6K Red Race (20:02.60).
Blaase's potential competitors at the front of the pack include 2014 SEC Champion Dominique Scott of Arkansas, Mississippi State's Rhianwedd Price (finished fourth at 2014 SECs), Texas A&M's Karis Jochen (has third-fastest 6K time in the league this season at 20:04.90), Arkansas' Devin Clark and Mississippi State's Marta Freitas.
"I think conference meets are a little bit different in terms of the mentality going in," Sullivan said. "One, they're smaller - about 120 athletes per race. We've been running in these big invitationals where there's 200 or 300 people, so it's a much smaller race. It feels much more intimate, you have much more at stake. Everybody you're running against is a team that you want to beat and a person that makes a difference at the end of the day."
Friday's race will also mark the first conference meet for the UT women's team's five freshmen. Freshmen sisters Jessica Rizor and Julia Rizor have been the Vols' next-highest finishers after Blaase this season and have posted similar 6K times to what Blaase had as a freshman in 2012.
On the men's side, senior Kyle Walter is on a mission for a strong finish at his final SEC Championships and a shot at All-SEC honors. The top 14 runners in each race earn all-league accolades. Walter took 23rd at the 2014 SEC Championships with a then-PR time of 25:09.35 in the men's 8K race. He is coming off an 18th-place finish at Pre-Nationals in Louisville earlier this month with a new 8K PR or 24:29.40. Though it is difficult to compare times from different races and locations, that time would have been good for fifth place at the 2014 SEC Championships.
"I suspect our seniors will have a bit more stress on their shoulders, knowing this is their last opportunity to pull it off as they have their goals set on the results that they want," Sullivan said. "I feel like our kids our battle-tested and pretty savvy and very committed to coming through on this one. I suspect when we are done, everyone will have given their best effort. They will be proud of themselves regardless."
The Tennessee men will rely on Walter and fellow senior Jack Little (who also set an 8K PR at Pre-Nationals at 25:10.30) to guide a young squad that includes several talented freshmen running in their first SEC meet. Freshman Zach Long has been named SEC Men's Freshman Runner of the Week twice this season and has gotten better with each race. Freshman Tyler Woodrome impressively shaved 40 seconds off his 8K time at the same course from the Greater Louisville Classic (25:48.67) to Pre-Nationals (25:08.6).
"These young runners will get their first taste of really knowing their true rivals throughout the rest of their college experience," Sullivan said.
