The University of Mississippi Athletics
Cross Country Teams Punch Tickets To NCAA Championships
11/11/2016 | Cross Country
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - For the first time in school history, both the Ole Miss men's and women's cross country teams will conclude their season at the NCAA Championships.
The 11th-ranked men claimed the team title and the No. 14 women claimed second at the 2016 NCAA South Region Championships, punching their tickets to the 2016 NCAA Championships.
"Today was certainly a banner day for our program," Ole Miss coach Ryan Vanhoy said. "To be able and have both the men's and women's teams representing Ole Miss at the NCAA Championships is a huge accomplishment."
The men ran away with the team title for their second regional championship in three years (2014). They defeated No. 26 Middle Tennessee by a margin of 46 to 61, with SEC foes Georgia (105) and Alabama (122) coming in third and fourth place, respectively. Five Rebels finished in the top 15 of the 10K race, with senior MJ Erb leading the charge for the Rebels finishing seventh overall with a mark of 30:33.7, 22 seconds faster than his 2015 mark.
"The men came in and did exactly what we wanted to do," Vanhoy said. "They executed a controlled effort and advanced to NCAA's for the third straight year. I thought they ran very well."
Erb was followed by senior Wesley Gallagher, junior Sean Tobin and senior Robert Domanic in eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively, with senior Craig Engels finishing 12th, rounding out the Rebel top five.
All five of the Rebels' top runners received All-Region honors by placing top 25. This is the third straight year that the men have five All-Region runners, and Domanic became the only Ole Miss runner to ever receive All-Region honors four years in a row.
"As a team the race went really well," Domanic said. "We had a 17-second split between our first runner and our fifth runner, it was good to see all our work together pay off."
The women continued their historic season with a second-place finish Friday morning, punching their first ever ticket to the NCAA Championships. It was an All-SEC team finish with Mississippi State edging out the Rebels 66 to 67, followed by Vanderbilt (138), Alabama (177), Georgia (195) and Florida (205).
"The women have been working towards this all season," Vanhoy said. "We were hoping to win the regional, but came up one-point shy in a very tough battle with Mississippi State who ran very well today."
Junior Emily Bean led the way for the women with a 10th-place finish with a 6K mark of 20:27.8, which is the second-best finish by an Ole Miss woman at the South Regional. Bean was followed closely by senior teammates Bo Ummels and Mary Alex England, who finished 11th and 12th, respectively.
"I'm really happy with not only my personal race but the team as a whole," Bean said. "Our goal was to make it to nationals, so that's worth celebrating. It'll be good to continue to work together as we prepare for nationals next weekend."
The women also made history as five runners earned All-Region honors. Bean, Ummels and England were joined by senior Britt Ummels and junior Shelby Brown on the All-Region list. The five All-Region women runners in 2016 matches the total number of All-Region honors the women had earned since the program began 31 years ago.
Both men and women will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana for the NCAA Championships. Competition will take place Saturday November 19 at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course. The women will run at 10 a.m. CT and the men will follow at 11 a.m.
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Men - Team
1) Ole Miss * - 46
2) Middle Tennessee State * - 61
3) Georgia - 105
4) Alabama - 122
5) Florida State - 127
6) Samford -165
7) Georgia Tech - 173
8) Florida - 212
9) North Florida - 235
10) Tennessee - 300
11) Tennessee Tech - 321
12) Belmont - 347
13) Lipscomb - 386
14) East Tennessee State - 393
15) Mississippi State - 420
16) Vanderbilt - 423
17) Florida Gulf Coast - 429
18) Chattanooga - 449
19) Miami - 501
20) South Florida - 592
21) Florida Atlantic - 642
* - Clinched NCAA Berth
Men - Individual
7) MJ Erb - 30:33.7*
8) Wesley Gallagher - 30:40.4*
9) Sean Tobin - 30:40.6*
10) Robert Domanic - 30:42.7*
12) Craig Engels - 30:50.4*
37) Mark Robertson - 31:42.4
44) Taylor Caldwell - 31:49.5
* - All-Region
Women - Team
1) Mississippi State * - 66
2) Ole Miss * - 67
3) Vanderbilt - 138
4) Alabama - 177
5) Georgia - 195
6) Florida - 205
7) Florida State - 208
8) Samford - 272
9) Lipscomb - 279
10) Memphis - 288
11) Southern Miss. - 333
12) Tennessee - Martin - 375
13) Georgia Tech - 379
14) Jacksonville - 413
15) North Florida - 415
16) South Alabama - 472
17) Belmont - 483
18) UCF - 493
19) UAB - 496
20) South Florida - 527
21) Tennessee Tech - 534
22) Chattanooga - 589
23) East Tennessee State - 589
24) Georgia State - 595
25) Miami - 638
26) Kennesaw State - 665
27) Mercer - 736
28) Georgia Southern - 757
29) Florida Atlantic - 841
30) Alabama State - 853
* - Clinched NCAA Berth
Women - Individual
10) Emily Bean - 20:27.8*
11) Bo Ummels - 20:29.7*
12) Mary Alex England - 20:34.1*
18) Britt Ummels - 20:46.8*
21) Shelby Brown - 20:48.5*
28) Anna Braswell - 20:58.6
58) Hannah Christen - 21:35.8
* - All-Region
Players Mentioned
