University of Tennessee Athletics
XC Central: SEC Championship
October 27, 2016 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee men’s and women’s cross country teams head to Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday for the 2016 SEC Cross Country Championships at Agri Park.
The women’s 6k race will begin at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET and the men’s 8K race will start at 11 a.m. CT/ 12 p.m. ET. The SEC awards presentation will begin immediately following the conclusion of the men’s race.
The men’s team enters the race ranked 10th in the South Region, behind SEC foes Ole Miss, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Auburn.
“We are excited for SEC Championship week. We look forward to testing ourselves at the SEC Championship level,” Tennessee Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. “On the men’s side we are led by Zach Long, who is prepared and ready for a good experience at this race. We are excited by the way he has become a leader for the men’s squad.”
Long, a sophomore, finished in the Top 10 at the Crimson Classic with a time of 24:51.5. He will look to continue his good form and claim a fifth consecutive first place finish amongst UT runners. Joe Bindner, Nick Brey and Gashaw Duhamel will be running in their first SEC meets. Duhamel was named SEC Freshman of the Week after he competed in the Commodore Classic, where he placed third for the Vols (26:12.50).
“We are led by freshman Megan Murray and sophomore Peighton Meske on the women’s side,” Alford-Sullivan said. “Megan has not competed at the SEC championship level before so we are looking forward to seeing a competitive race from her.”
Murray finished 25th at the Crimson Classic in 21:34.3 while racing in her first career collegiate 6K. Sophomores Meske, Jessica Rizor and Emma Reed will be competing in the SEC championships for the second time, after the team placed 11th at last year’s competition. Meske finished the 6K with a time of 22:27.1 to take 105th place. Meske has shown improvement in her sophomore season, finishing the 6K Crimson Classic with a time of 21:45.2.
Friday’s SEC Championship race is hosted by the University of Arkansas, which has dedicated a portion of the on campus agricultural area to a cross country course, hence the name Agri Park. Arkansas is the defending SEC cross country champion on both the men’s and women’s sides. The Razorback men have won the last six SEC crowns and 23 in the last 25 years. The Razorback women have won three consecutive SEC titles.
A highlight show of the SEC Championship races will air on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. ET on the SEC Network.
