The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, November 15
Tallahassee, Fla.
7:30 AM
Ole Miss
vs
NCAA South Regional
Ole Miss Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Qualify for NCAA Championships
11/15/2019 | Cross Country
This Marks the Fourth Consecutive Year Both Rebel Squads Have Qualified
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Ole Miss cross country reasserted itself as one of the most consistent programs in the nation, as both the Rebel men's and women's teams punched their fourth consecutive combined tickets to the NCAA Championships after strong showings at the NCAA South Regional on Friday morning.
The No. 11 Rebel men used an effective team racing strategy to win its fourth South Region title in the last six years – the sixth consecutive national berth Ole Miss has received on the men's side after having never qualified prior to 2014. It was a similar story for the No. 27 Rebel women, who earned an automatic qualifier spot as the team runners-up – their fourth straight trip to nationals after never qualifying prior to 2016.
"Our main goal coming in to this weekend was to advance both teams to the NCAA Championships, so mission accomplished," said Ole Miss associate head coach Ryan Vanhoy.
Ole Miss will have to wait and see how results vary from around the country, but entering this weekend, the Rebels stood as one of just nine schools nationally to have qualified both its men's and women's programs in each of the last three years alongside Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, Iowa State, NC State, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Stanford. Additionally, Ole Miss is one of just seven in the NCAA to place both its programs in the top-25 in each of the last three seasons, joining Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, NC State, Oregon and Stanford.
The SEC Champion Rebel men hung together in a tight pack throughout the men's 10K race, clocking a scoring spread of 30.8 seconds as Ole Miss charged over the final 5K. At the halfway mark, the Rebels were sitting in fourth place in the team standings, but all five scorers were sitting in a tight bunch from 22nd to 29th place. From there, the Rebels made a charge, jumping to third at the 6K mark and eventually jumping ahead to take the lead for good at the 8K split. Ole Miss held on over the final two kilometers for a 14-point win over No. 15 Middle Tennessee, 69-83.
The top three finishers for Ole Miss – sophomore Cade Bethmann (eighth, 30:33.0), senior Farah Abdulkarim (ninth, 30:33.1) and junior Waleed Suliman (10th, 30:33.2) all crossed the line at virtually the same time, separated by just two tenths of a second. All three earned All-Region honors, as did other Rebel scorers Michael Coccia (19th, 30:57.7) and Mario Garcia Romo (23rd, 31:03.8). The five All-Region runners stand as the second-most in Ole Miss men's history behind the six honorees in 2018.
"Our men executed a very team-oriented race plan very well and did exactly what we needed to do to lock up our qualifying spot," Vanhoy said. "Cade, Waleed, and Farah worked well leading our group through the course and made all the right moves when they needed to be made."
Other Rebel men in competition on Friday included sophomore Dalton Hengst (54th, 31:49.1) and junior Robinson Snider (61st, 31:57.7).
Ole Miss used a similar strategy in the women's 6K to start the day, sitting in fifth in a pack from 23rd to 45th at the first split through 2.2 kilometers before making a big push to second place at the halfway mark. The Rebels would hold onto that spot with 100 points behind No. 12 Florida State's 42 points – the lowest total of either gender at the South Region meet since 2013.
Four Rebels earned All-Region honors, led by junior Anna Elkin in 10th place at 20:34.1. Fellow junior Maddie King earned her second career All-Region honor in 20th place at 20:42.4, as did sophomore Lisa Vogelgesang in 23rd place at 20:42.8. Junior Victoria Simmons, the top Rebel finisher at the SEC Championships two weeks ago, earned her first career All-Region honor in 25th place at 20:46.3.
"Our women had another solid showing and ran well as a group," Vanhoy said. "Anna Elkin led us for the first time this season, improving 27 spots from last year to finish 10th. We have now had three different women who have finished first for us in races this season, showing our depth and potential for what we can do if our top-five all have a great day simultaneously."
Other Rebel women in competition included Maddie McHugh (27th, 20:56.0), Skylar Boogerd (29th, 21:02.4) and Chelsea Drum (59th, 21:33.5).
The NCAA Cross Country Championships will be run next Saturday, Nov. 23, at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Men's 10K Team Scores
1. #11 Ole Miss – 69
2. #15 Middle Tennessee – 83
3. #28 Alabama – 97
4. (RV) Florida State – 136
5. Georgia Tech – 169
6. Lipscomb – 205
7. North Florida – 220
8. Florida – 220
9. Belmont – 246
10. East Tennessee State – 259
11. Vanderbilt – 303
12. Tennessee – 320
13. Georgia – 364
14. Samford – 374
15. Auburn – 374
16. UT Martin – 394
17. Mississippi State – 396
18. South Alabama – 417
19. Stetson – 431
20. Mercer – 607
21. Chattanooga – 620
22. Miami – 630
23. Florida Atlantic – 716
24. FIU – 736
Men's Individual Results
8. Cade Bethmann – 30:33.0 (PR) – All-Region
9. Farah Abdulkarim – 30:33.1 (PR) – All-Region
10. Waleed Suliman – 30:33.2 – All-Region
19. Michael Coccia – 30:57.7 (PR) – All-Region
23. Mario Garcia Romo – 31:03.8 (PR) – All-Region
54. Dalton Hengst – 31:49.1 (PR)
61. Robinson Snider – 31:57.7 (PR)
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. #12 Florida State – 42
2. #27 Ole Miss – 100
3. Tennessee – 144
4. Georgia Tech – 154
5. Vanderbilt – 166
6. Alabama – 167
7. Georgia – 178
8. Florida – 189
9. Auburn – 218
10. Lipscomb – 258
11. (RV) Middle Tennessee – 295
12. Southern Miss – 310
13. South Alabama – 360
14. Mississippi State – 411
15. Belmont – 447
16. Samford – 490
17. UT Martin – 528
18. UAB – 552
19. Memphis – 563
20. Chattanooga – 573
21. North Florida – 594
22. South Florida – 618
23. East Tennessee State – 641
24. FIU – 665
25. Florida Atlantic – 692
26. Troy – 692
27. Alabama State – 824
Women's Individual Results
10. Anna Elkin – 20:34.1 – All-Region
20. Maddie King – 20:42.4 – All-Region
23. Lisa Vogelgesang – 20:42.8 – All-Region
25. Victoria Simmons – 20:46.3 – All-Region
27. Maddie McHugh – 20:56.0
29. Skylar Boogerd – 21:02.4
59. Chelsea Drum – 21:33.5
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
The No. 11 Rebel men used an effective team racing strategy to win its fourth South Region title in the last six years – the sixth consecutive national berth Ole Miss has received on the men's side after having never qualified prior to 2014. It was a similar story for the No. 27 Rebel women, who earned an automatic qualifier spot as the team runners-up – their fourth straight trip to nationals after never qualifying prior to 2016.
"Our main goal coming in to this weekend was to advance both teams to the NCAA Championships, so mission accomplished," said Ole Miss associate head coach Ryan Vanhoy.
Ole Miss will have to wait and see how results vary from around the country, but entering this weekend, the Rebels stood as one of just nine schools nationally to have qualified both its men's and women's programs in each of the last three years alongside Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, Iowa State, NC State, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Stanford. Additionally, Ole Miss is one of just seven in the NCAA to place both its programs in the top-25 in each of the last three seasons, joining Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, NC State, Oregon and Stanford.
The SEC Champion Rebel men hung together in a tight pack throughout the men's 10K race, clocking a scoring spread of 30.8 seconds as Ole Miss charged over the final 5K. At the halfway mark, the Rebels were sitting in fourth place in the team standings, but all five scorers were sitting in a tight bunch from 22nd to 29th place. From there, the Rebels made a charge, jumping to third at the 6K mark and eventually jumping ahead to take the lead for good at the 8K split. Ole Miss held on over the final two kilometers for a 14-point win over No. 15 Middle Tennessee, 69-83.
The top three finishers for Ole Miss – sophomore Cade Bethmann (eighth, 30:33.0), senior Farah Abdulkarim (ninth, 30:33.1) and junior Waleed Suliman (10th, 30:33.2) all crossed the line at virtually the same time, separated by just two tenths of a second. All three earned All-Region honors, as did other Rebel scorers Michael Coccia (19th, 30:57.7) and Mario Garcia Romo (23rd, 31:03.8). The five All-Region runners stand as the second-most in Ole Miss men's history behind the six honorees in 2018.
"Our men executed a very team-oriented race plan very well and did exactly what we needed to do to lock up our qualifying spot," Vanhoy said. "Cade, Waleed, and Farah worked well leading our group through the course and made all the right moves when they needed to be made."
Other Rebel men in competition on Friday included sophomore Dalton Hengst (54th, 31:49.1) and junior Robinson Snider (61st, 31:57.7).
Ole Miss used a similar strategy in the women's 6K to start the day, sitting in fifth in a pack from 23rd to 45th at the first split through 2.2 kilometers before making a big push to second place at the halfway mark. The Rebels would hold onto that spot with 100 points behind No. 12 Florida State's 42 points – the lowest total of either gender at the South Region meet since 2013.
Four Rebels earned All-Region honors, led by junior Anna Elkin in 10th place at 20:34.1. Fellow junior Maddie King earned her second career All-Region honor in 20th place at 20:42.4, as did sophomore Lisa Vogelgesang in 23rd place at 20:42.8. Junior Victoria Simmons, the top Rebel finisher at the SEC Championships two weeks ago, earned her first career All-Region honor in 25th place at 20:46.3.
"Our women had another solid showing and ran well as a group," Vanhoy said. "Anna Elkin led us for the first time this season, improving 27 spots from last year to finish 10th. We have now had three different women who have finished first for us in races this season, showing our depth and potential for what we can do if our top-five all have a great day simultaneously."
Other Rebel women in competition included Maddie McHugh (27th, 20:56.0), Skylar Boogerd (29th, 21:02.4) and Chelsea Drum (59th, 21:33.5).
The NCAA Cross Country Championships will be run next Saturday, Nov. 23, at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Men's 10K Team Scores
1. #11 Ole Miss – 69
2. #15 Middle Tennessee – 83
3. #28 Alabama – 97
4. (RV) Florida State – 136
5. Georgia Tech – 169
6. Lipscomb – 205
7. North Florida – 220
8. Florida – 220
9. Belmont – 246
10. East Tennessee State – 259
11. Vanderbilt – 303
12. Tennessee – 320
13. Georgia – 364
14. Samford – 374
15. Auburn – 374
16. UT Martin – 394
17. Mississippi State – 396
18. South Alabama – 417
19. Stetson – 431
20. Mercer – 607
21. Chattanooga – 620
22. Miami – 630
23. Florida Atlantic – 716
24. FIU – 736
Men's Individual Results
8. Cade Bethmann – 30:33.0 (PR) – All-Region
9. Farah Abdulkarim – 30:33.1 (PR) – All-Region
10. Waleed Suliman – 30:33.2 – All-Region
19. Michael Coccia – 30:57.7 (PR) – All-Region
23. Mario Garcia Romo – 31:03.8 (PR) – All-Region
54. Dalton Hengst – 31:49.1 (PR)
61. Robinson Snider – 31:57.7 (PR)
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. #12 Florida State – 42
2. #27 Ole Miss – 100
3. Tennessee – 144
4. Georgia Tech – 154
5. Vanderbilt – 166
6. Alabama – 167
7. Georgia – 178
8. Florida – 189
9. Auburn – 218
10. Lipscomb – 258
11. (RV) Middle Tennessee – 295
12. Southern Miss – 310
13. South Alabama – 360
14. Mississippi State – 411
15. Belmont – 447
16. Samford – 490
17. UT Martin – 528
18. UAB – 552
19. Memphis – 563
20. Chattanooga – 573
21. North Florida – 594
22. South Florida – 618
23. East Tennessee State – 641
24. FIU – 665
25. Florida Atlantic – 692
26. Troy – 692
27. Alabama State – 824
Women's Individual Results
10. Anna Elkin – 20:34.1 – All-Region
20. Maddie King – 20:42.4 – All-Region
23. Lisa Vogelgesang – 20:42.8 – All-Region
25. Victoria Simmons – 20:46.3 – All-Region
27. Maddie McHugh – 20:56.0
29. Skylar Boogerd – 21:02.4
59. Chelsea Drum – 21:33.5
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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