The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, October 26
Auburn, Ala.
9 AM
Ole Miss
vs
SEC Championships
Rebel Men Win First SEC Championship in Program History
10/26/2018 | Cross Country
Ole Miss Broke Arkansas’ Streak of Eight-Straight SEC Men’s Titles
AUBURN, Ala. – Ole Miss had gotten heartbreakingly close to an SEC men's title in cross country several times in the last few years under cross country coach Ryan Vanhoy. Heartbreak was not in the forecast for the Rebels today, however, as the Ole Miss men's squad rode a powerful performance to its first SEC title at Auburn's Indian Pines Golf Course on Friday morning.
There was rain in the forecast this morning in Auburn, but nothing could slow down the No. 21 Rebel men, who entered picked to finish third, but ended up snapping No. 20 Arkansas' streak of eight-straight SEC men's titles instead.
"It's very satisfying," Vanhoy said. "It's been a big goal for this program, something that we've been striving toward for a long time. Even from the very early days with our first big group of guys, that was the goal from the beginning. A lot of credit to those that came before this group that really paved the way. We've been close so many times and been just short, so it definitely feels good to be on the other side."
Ole Miss led wire-to-wire, placing a large pack of Rebels near the top right at the start that never quite wavered. The five Rebel scorers all finished within the top-11 to unseat Arkansas, 36-44, for the title. The win comes despite losing sophomore Michael Coccia midway through the race after losing his shoe, forcing a bevy of young Rebels to step up in their first-ever conference championship race.
"That's cross country," Vanhoy said. "Things happen that don't make any sense. Our second place finisher at our last meet lost his shoe midrace and had to pull out, but one of Arkansas' guys really struggled in the last 800, and one of the guys they were counting on as well. I think both teams kind of fought a little bit of adversity, but I think for our guys, they got up there, they got in the race, and they were able to get it done."
Sophomore Waleed Suliman led the Rebel assault, finishing fourth at a career-best 8K time of 22:59.4, becoming the ninth Rebel to ever finish top-five in the SEC men's race. Suliman earned First-Team All-SEC honors for his efforts, as did two crucial races by freshmen Cade Bethmann (sixth, 23:05.0, PR) and Mario Garcia Romo (seventh, 23:07.0, PR). Junior Farah Abdulkarim (eighth, 23:08.7, PR) and senior Mark Robertson (11th, 23:13.1, PR) earned Second-Team honors to round out the Rebel scoring.
The win is not only the first men's or women's SEC cross country title in school history, but it also adds onto a superb streak that Vanhoy and company have been on over the last few seasons. After only finishing third or higher three times from 1967-2013, the Rebel men have now finished third or higher in each SEC Championship since 2014.
"It's definitely an exciting time to be an Ole Miss Rebel," Vanhoy said. "We talked about that, too. The hardest championship is always the first. You don't know how to win until you win. Now that we've gotten one under our belts and we've got this experience, we know what it feels like to win and what it feels like to actually be able to win. I think this will be a big difference maker as this group continues on into the future."
The Ole Miss women also kept their streak up, finishing third in the women's 6K for the third-straight top-three placement after never finishing that high prior to the 2016 season.
Sophomore Clio Ozanne-Jaques earned her first All-SEC honor with a Second-Team finish to pace the No. 26 Rebel women, finishing 12th overall at a PR time of 19:48.2. She was one of five Rebel women's scorers to finish within the top-35, followed by Maddie McHugh (21st, 20:05.7, PR), Maddie King (24th, 20:09.9, PR), Lisa Vogelgesang (25th, 20:13.0) and Ylvi Traxler (34th, 20:26.7).
The cross country season is far from over, though, as Ole Miss now faces the task of qualifying both its men's and women's teams to the NCAA Championships for the third straight season at the NCAA South Regional, held this year at Florida State on Nov. 9.
Men's First-Team All-SEC:
Waleed Suliman
Cade Bethmann
Mario Garcia Romo
Men's Second-Team All-SEC:
Farah Abdulkarim
Mark Robertson
Men's SEC All-Freshman:
Cade Bethmann
Mario Garcia Romo
Women's Second-Team All-SEC:
Clio Ozanne-Jaques
Women's SEC All-Freshman:
Lisa Vogelgesang
Men's 8K Team Scores
1. #21 Ole Miss – 36
2. #20 Arkansas – 44
3. Kentucky – 122
4. Tennessee – 132
5. Missouri – 135
6. #30 Alabama – 166
7. Texas A&M – 170
8. Florida – 184
9. Georgia – 190
10. Auburn – 266
11. Vanderbilt – 291
12. LSU - 335
Men's Individual Results
4. Waleed Suliman – 22:59.4 – PR
6. Cade Bethmann – 23:05.0 – PR
7. Mario Garcia Romo – 23:07.0 – PR
8. Farah Abdulkarim – 23:08.7 – PR
11. Mark Robertson – 23:13.1 – PR
24. Ben Savino – 23:41.5 – PR
31. Dalton Hengst – 23:52.5 – PR
86. Everett Smulders – 25:17.3 – PR
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. #5 Arkansas – 24
2. Florida – 69
3. #26 Ole Miss – 116
4. #24 Georgia – 144
5. Missouri – 149
6. Vanderbilt – 181
7. Tennessee – 197
8. Kentucky – 242
9. Alabama – 242
10. Texas A&M – 260
11. LSU – 275
12. Mississippi State – 277
13. South Carolina – 333
14. Auburn – 349
Women's Individual Results
12. Clio Ozanne-Jaques – 19:48.2 – PR
21. Maddie McHugh – 20:05.7 – PR
24. Maddie King – 20:09.9 – PR
25. Lisa Vogelgesang – 20:13.0 – PR
34. Ylvi Traxler – 20:26.7 – PR
38. Anna Elkin – 20:31.7 – PR
41. Courtney Hopkins – 20:33.7 – PR
48. Victoria Simmons – 20:37.4 – PR
70. Nicole Rice – 21:02.4
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
There was rain in the forecast this morning in Auburn, but nothing could slow down the No. 21 Rebel men, who entered picked to finish third, but ended up snapping No. 20 Arkansas' streak of eight-straight SEC men's titles instead.
"It's very satisfying," Vanhoy said. "It's been a big goal for this program, something that we've been striving toward for a long time. Even from the very early days with our first big group of guys, that was the goal from the beginning. A lot of credit to those that came before this group that really paved the way. We've been close so many times and been just short, so it definitely feels good to be on the other side."
Ole Miss led wire-to-wire, placing a large pack of Rebels near the top right at the start that never quite wavered. The five Rebel scorers all finished within the top-11 to unseat Arkansas, 36-44, for the title. The win comes despite losing sophomore Michael Coccia midway through the race after losing his shoe, forcing a bevy of young Rebels to step up in their first-ever conference championship race.
"That's cross country," Vanhoy said. "Things happen that don't make any sense. Our second place finisher at our last meet lost his shoe midrace and had to pull out, but one of Arkansas' guys really struggled in the last 800, and one of the guys they were counting on as well. I think both teams kind of fought a little bit of adversity, but I think for our guys, they got up there, they got in the race, and they were able to get it done."
Sophomore Waleed Suliman led the Rebel assault, finishing fourth at a career-best 8K time of 22:59.4, becoming the ninth Rebel to ever finish top-five in the SEC men's race. Suliman earned First-Team All-SEC honors for his efforts, as did two crucial races by freshmen Cade Bethmann (sixth, 23:05.0, PR) and Mario Garcia Romo (seventh, 23:07.0, PR). Junior Farah Abdulkarim (eighth, 23:08.7, PR) and senior Mark Robertson (11th, 23:13.1, PR) earned Second-Team honors to round out the Rebel scoring.
The win is not only the first men's or women's SEC cross country title in school history, but it also adds onto a superb streak that Vanhoy and company have been on over the last few seasons. After only finishing third or higher three times from 1967-2013, the Rebel men have now finished third or higher in each SEC Championship since 2014.
"It's definitely an exciting time to be an Ole Miss Rebel," Vanhoy said. "We talked about that, too. The hardest championship is always the first. You don't know how to win until you win. Now that we've gotten one under our belts and we've got this experience, we know what it feels like to win and what it feels like to actually be able to win. I think this will be a big difference maker as this group continues on into the future."
The Ole Miss women also kept their streak up, finishing third in the women's 6K for the third-straight top-three placement after never finishing that high prior to the 2016 season.
Sophomore Clio Ozanne-Jaques earned her first All-SEC honor with a Second-Team finish to pace the No. 26 Rebel women, finishing 12th overall at a PR time of 19:48.2. She was one of five Rebel women's scorers to finish within the top-35, followed by Maddie McHugh (21st, 20:05.7, PR), Maddie King (24th, 20:09.9, PR), Lisa Vogelgesang (25th, 20:13.0) and Ylvi Traxler (34th, 20:26.7).
The cross country season is far from over, though, as Ole Miss now faces the task of qualifying both its men's and women's teams to the NCAA Championships for the third straight season at the NCAA South Regional, held this year at Florida State on Nov. 9.
Men's First-Team All-SEC:
Waleed Suliman
Cade Bethmann
Mario Garcia Romo
Men's Second-Team All-SEC:
Farah Abdulkarim
Mark Robertson
Men's SEC All-Freshman:
Cade Bethmann
Mario Garcia Romo
Women's Second-Team All-SEC:
Clio Ozanne-Jaques
Women's SEC All-Freshman:
Lisa Vogelgesang
Men's 8K Team Scores
1. #21 Ole Miss – 36
2. #20 Arkansas – 44
3. Kentucky – 122
4. Tennessee – 132
5. Missouri – 135
6. #30 Alabama – 166
7. Texas A&M – 170
8. Florida – 184
9. Georgia – 190
10. Auburn – 266
11. Vanderbilt – 291
12. LSU - 335
Men's Individual Results
4. Waleed Suliman – 22:59.4 – PR
6. Cade Bethmann – 23:05.0 – PR
7. Mario Garcia Romo – 23:07.0 – PR
8. Farah Abdulkarim – 23:08.7 – PR
11. Mark Robertson – 23:13.1 – PR
24. Ben Savino – 23:41.5 – PR
31. Dalton Hengst – 23:52.5 – PR
86. Everett Smulders – 25:17.3 – PR
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. #5 Arkansas – 24
2. Florida – 69
3. #26 Ole Miss – 116
4. #24 Georgia – 144
5. Missouri – 149
6. Vanderbilt – 181
7. Tennessee – 197
8. Kentucky – 242
9. Alabama – 242
10. Texas A&M – 260
11. LSU – 275
12. Mississippi State – 277
13. South Carolina – 333
14. Auburn – 349
Women's Individual Results
12. Clio Ozanne-Jaques – 19:48.2 – PR
21. Maddie McHugh – 20:05.7 – PR
24. Maddie King – 20:09.9 – PR
25. Lisa Vogelgesang – 20:13.0 – PR
34. Ylvi Traxler – 20:26.7 – PR
38. Anna Elkin – 20:31.7 – PR
41. Courtney Hopkins – 20:33.7 – PR
48. Victoria Simmons – 20:37.4 – PR
70. Nicole Rice – 21:02.4
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Who To Watch: Ole Miss Track and Field
Wednesday, October 08