University of Tennessee
SEC Championships
CROSS COUNTRY CENTRAL: SEC Championships
October 26, 2017 | Track & Field
Tennessee returns to UGA Golf Course to compete in the SEC Championships on Friday
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee men's and women's cross country teams head to Athens, Georgia, for the 2017 SEC Cross Country Championships on Friday at UGA Golf Course.
2017 SEC Cross Country Championships
RACE DAY INFO
- Date: Oct. 27, 2017
- Location: UGA Golf Course
- Host: Georgia Bulldogs
- Men's 8K Race: 10 a.m. ET
- Women's 6K Race: 11 a.m. ET
- Race Info: Live Results | General Info | Men's 8K Entries | Women's 6K Entries
- Meet Central: Click Here
- Directions/Course Info: Click Here
- Course Maps: Men's 8K | Women's 6K
Tennessee Men Competing
Alex Crigger
Gashaw Duhamel
John Elrod
Conner Hawkins
Andre Hillsman
Adam Johnston
Drew Kelley
Zach Long
Wesley Robinson
David Savic
Brad Swiney
Tennessee Women Competing
Cassidy Giles
Taylor Luthringer
Peighton Meske
Megan Murray
Emma Reed
Niamh Schumacher
Abigail Smith
Rachel Ware
The men's 8K race will start at 10 a.m. ET and the women's 6K race will begin at 11 a.m. ET. CLICK HERE to follow the live results of each race. A one-hour highlight show will air Sunday, Nov. 5, at 12 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
The top 14 runners of each race earn All-SEC honors.
"We are excited for these teams to head into SEC competition," Tennessee director of track and field/cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "We are healthy, we are feeling good and we have had a good week of preparation going in. We are prepared to lay it on the line and excited to see where it may fall. We have done a lot of growing the program over the last couple of years. Hopefully you will see some of that resolve this weekend. We think we are in good shape."
The Tennessee men have a rich history at SEC Cross Country Championships with a league-high 25 all-time wins. The Vols took home the men's team title in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989 and 1990.
Tennessee has also won 16 individual men's titles. UT's past individual men's champions include Tom Scott (1949), Alf Holmberg (1950, 1951), Frank Albertson (1952), Ed Murphy (1956), David Storey (1963), Bob Redington (1965), Owen Self (1968), Doug Brown (1972, 1973), Pat Davey (1974, 1975), Rickey Pittman (1981), Doug Tolson (1984) and Todd Williams (1989, 1990). Williams, who won in 1989 and 1990, is the only Vol to win at the 8K distance.
This year, junior Zach Long leads the UT men into the conference meet with a pair of top-10 finishes. He ran a career-best 8K time of 23:47.60 at Pre Nationals on Oct. 14. Junior Wesley Robinson also ran a career-best 8K time at Pre Nationals (24:27.20) and enjoyed a standout race the last time the Vols competed at UGA Golf Course, taking eighth in the Bulldog SEC Preview. Freshman Alex Crigger, sophomore Gashaw Duhamel, freshman John Elrod, freshman Conner Hawkins, junior Andre Hillsman, freshman Adam Johnston, sophomore David Savic and sophomore Brad Swiney will join Long and Robinson on the starting line.
The Tennessee women also have an impressive history at SEC Cross Country Championships as five-time champions. UT won the inaugural SEC women's championship in 1983 and followed with team crowns in 1990, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Alison Quelch (1983) and Patty Wiegand (1990) are the only two Lady Vols to win the SEC individual title.
Sophomore Megan Murray leads the Tennessee women with three top 25 finishes this season. She posted a career-best 6K time of 20:24.00 in the Paul Short Run on Sept. 29. Junior Cassidy Giles, freshman Taylor Luthringer, junior Peighton Meske, junior Emma Reed, freshman Niamh Schumacher, freshman Abigail Smith and freshman Rachel Ware will join Murray on the starting line.
In 2016, the Tennessee men finished ninth and Long led the team with a 26th-place finish. The UT women took 14th last year with Murray posting a team-best 56th.
Players Mentioned
