The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, October 30
Baton Rouge, La.
9:05 AM
Ole Miss
vs
SEC Championships
Cross Country Heads to LSU for 2020 SEC Championships
10/29/2020 | Cross Country
<i class="icon-tv"></i> Watch (SEC Network)<i class="icon-stats"></i> Live Results<i class="icon-info-circled"></i> Championship Central<i class="icon-paper"></i> SEC Men's Records<i class="icon-paper"></i> SEC Women's Records
Competition Begins at 9 a.m. CT Live on SEC Network Friday Morning
BATON ROUGE, La. – Ole Miss men's and women's cross country will look to conclude its shortened 2020 season with strong finishes at the SEC Cross Country Championships, which will be hosted at LSU on Friday morning. Both races will air live on SEC Network, with the women's 6K up first at 9:05 a.m. CT.
The No. 19 Rebel men, the two-time defending SEC Champions, will square off against a fierce No. 3 Arkansas team for the third time this season, this time with a conference trophy on the line. The Razorbacks were picked to win over Ole Miss in the preseason poll back in September, earning nine first-place votes to the Rebels' three. The Ole Miss women, meanwhile, were also picked to finish second behind the defending national champions and No. 1 ranked Arkansas, which snagged 13 first-place votes against one for the Rebels.
Ole Miss is in the midst of historic team success on both its men's and women's squads over the previous several seasons under head coach Connie Price-Smith and associate head coach for cross country, Ryan Vanhoy. Both Rebel teams have finished within the top-three at the conference meet in each of the past four seasons, with the Ole Miss men currently on the best streak in program history with six consecutive top-three finishes. Prior to 2014, the Rebel men had only finished third or better three times (1968, second; 1969, third; 1984, third). Additionally, Ole Miss is one of just four programs nationally to have placed both its men's and women's programs in the top-25 of the national meet in each of the last four seasons alongside BYU, Colorado and Stanford.
The Rebel men have enjoyed a solid season thus far, finishing second or better in three highly competitive meets. Ole Miss has gone toe-to-toe with No. 3 Arkansas twice, finishing runner-up narrowly in the season opener at LSU on Sept. 19 and again taking second to the Razorbacks at UAB's Blazer Classic on Oct. 16. In between, the Rebels won Louisville's Live in Lou Classic in dominant fashion, besting Charlotte by a 41-point margin on Oct. 3.
Ole Miss has been paced by a steady top pack of three that includes two-time All-American and senior Waleed Suliman, junior Mario Garcia Romo and sophomore Cole Bullock. Garcia Romo has proven to be a consistent threat for the Rebels at the top of results sheet, winning the season-opening SEC Preview by two seconds and coming three tenths of a second shy of a second individual title as the runner-up at the Blazer Classic. For his efforts in the season opener, Garcia Romo was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week.
All three currently rank within the SEC top-five in the 8K and were also instrumental in Ole Miss' dominant repeat SEC title win in 2019, with Suliman leading the way as the third-place finisher and Bullock being named the SEC Freshman of the Year after a ninth-place showing. In all, the Rebels return four All-SEC performers from the championship squad one year ago when including senior Michael Coccia and junior Cade Bethmann.
The stage is now set for a third showdown between the Rebels and Razorbacks. Ole Miss has won the last two SEC men's titles in 2018 and 2019, snapping Arkansas' eight-year winning streak in 2018 and becoming the first school not named Arkansas or Alabama to win since 1990.
Other Rebel men in competition this Friday include: Jack Filan, Dalton Hengst, Tyler Moore, Ben Savino and Robinson Snider.
The Rebel women, meanwhile, are also in the midst of the best stretch in their program history with three straight top-three SEC finishes after having never finished that high prior to 2016. Ole Miss has tied a program-best second place in both 2016 and 2019, and the Rebels have also recorded their highest-ever national finishes in each of the last two seasons, taking 22nd in 2018 and 21st in 2019.
Ole Miss is receiving votes in the USTFCCCA National Women's Coaches Poll after having strung together three steady meets so far, taking runner-up at the SEC Preview and Live in Lou Classic before finishing fourth in a contentious dash to the finish over the last kilometer at the UAB Blazer Classic.
Senior Anna Elkin has been the top finisher for Ole Miss in all three meets, running a 5K PR at Louisville (17:00.4) and coming within one second of her 6K PR at UAB (20:32.21). Elkin's 6K season-best sits No. 17 in the SEC, and fellow senior Victoria Simmons joins her in the top-20 with her season-best of 20:41.34.
Like the men, the Rebel women return a decent portion of its SEC runner-up squad from a year ago. Other women running for Ole Miss on Friday include reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Skylar Boogerd, Brooke Gilmore, Ryann Helmers, Emma McClellan, two-time NCAA All-South Region runner Clio Ozanne-Jaques, Nicole Rice, Morgan Claire Rose, Cate Tracht, Ylvi Traxler and Loral Winn.
Competition begins live on SEC Network with the women's 6K at 9 a.m. CT followed by the men's 8K at 10 a.m. CT.
Ole Miss Women's Conference Roster • 6K: 9:05 a.m. CT
Name • Season Best (6K)
Skylar Boogerd • 21:11.72
Anna Elkin • 20:32.21 (17th SEC)
Brooke Gilmore • 22:25.46
Ryann Helmers • 21:14.48
Emma McClellan • 21:23.30
Clio Ozanne-Jaques • 21:10.72
Nicole Rice • 21:27.82
Morgan Claire Rose • 22:05.46
Victoria Simmons • 20:41.34 (20th SEC)
Cate Tracht • 22:36.45
Ylvi Traxler • 22:03.10
Loral Winn • 21:24.54
Ole Miss Men's Conference Roster • 8K: 10 a.m. CT
Name • Season Best (8K)
Cade Bethmann • 24:31.50
Cole Bullock • 23:26.00 (3rd SEC)
Michael Coccia • 24:10.00 (18th SEC)
Jack Filan • 24:56.30
Mario Garcia Romo • 23:25.75 (2nd SEC)
Dalton Hengst • 24:12.90 (19th SEC)
Tyler Moore • 25:27.07
Ben Savino • 24:15.70
Robinson Snider • 24:48.60
Waleed Suliman • 23:30.39 (5th SEC)
SEC Men's Preseason Poll
1. #3 Arkansas (9) – 13
2. #19 Ole Miss (3) – 20
3. (RV) Alabama – 37
4. Missouri – 50
5. Texas A&M – 51
6. Kentucky – 52
7. Florida – 71
8. Tennessee – 79
9. LSU – 94
10. Georgia – 97
11. Vanderbilt – 111
12. Auburn – 117
SEC Women's Preseason Poll
1. #1 Arkansas (13) – 13
2. (RV) Ole Miss (1) – 31
3. Alabama – 53
4. Missouri – 58
5. Florida – 63
5. Tennessee – 63
7. Kentucky – 88
8. Vanderbilt – 96
9. Georgia – 107
10. Texas A&M – 118
11. Auburn – 123
12. LSU – 141
13. Mississippi State – 154
14. South Carolina – 166
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
The No. 19 Rebel men, the two-time defending SEC Champions, will square off against a fierce No. 3 Arkansas team for the third time this season, this time with a conference trophy on the line. The Razorbacks were picked to win over Ole Miss in the preseason poll back in September, earning nine first-place votes to the Rebels' three. The Ole Miss women, meanwhile, were also picked to finish second behind the defending national champions and No. 1 ranked Arkansas, which snagged 13 first-place votes against one for the Rebels.
Ole Miss is in the midst of historic team success on both its men's and women's squads over the previous several seasons under head coach Connie Price-Smith and associate head coach for cross country, Ryan Vanhoy. Both Rebel teams have finished within the top-three at the conference meet in each of the past four seasons, with the Ole Miss men currently on the best streak in program history with six consecutive top-three finishes. Prior to 2014, the Rebel men had only finished third or better three times (1968, second; 1969, third; 1984, third). Additionally, Ole Miss is one of just four programs nationally to have placed both its men's and women's programs in the top-25 of the national meet in each of the last four seasons alongside BYU, Colorado and Stanford.
The Rebel men have enjoyed a solid season thus far, finishing second or better in three highly competitive meets. Ole Miss has gone toe-to-toe with No. 3 Arkansas twice, finishing runner-up narrowly in the season opener at LSU on Sept. 19 and again taking second to the Razorbacks at UAB's Blazer Classic on Oct. 16. In between, the Rebels won Louisville's Live in Lou Classic in dominant fashion, besting Charlotte by a 41-point margin on Oct. 3.
Ole Miss has been paced by a steady top pack of three that includes two-time All-American and senior Waleed Suliman, junior Mario Garcia Romo and sophomore Cole Bullock. Garcia Romo has proven to be a consistent threat for the Rebels at the top of results sheet, winning the season-opening SEC Preview by two seconds and coming three tenths of a second shy of a second individual title as the runner-up at the Blazer Classic. For his efforts in the season opener, Garcia Romo was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week.
All three currently rank within the SEC top-five in the 8K and were also instrumental in Ole Miss' dominant repeat SEC title win in 2019, with Suliman leading the way as the third-place finisher and Bullock being named the SEC Freshman of the Year after a ninth-place showing. In all, the Rebels return four All-SEC performers from the championship squad one year ago when including senior Michael Coccia and junior Cade Bethmann.
The stage is now set for a third showdown between the Rebels and Razorbacks. Ole Miss has won the last two SEC men's titles in 2018 and 2019, snapping Arkansas' eight-year winning streak in 2018 and becoming the first school not named Arkansas or Alabama to win since 1990.
Other Rebel men in competition this Friday include: Jack Filan, Dalton Hengst, Tyler Moore, Ben Savino and Robinson Snider.
The Rebel women, meanwhile, are also in the midst of the best stretch in their program history with three straight top-three SEC finishes after having never finished that high prior to 2016. Ole Miss has tied a program-best second place in both 2016 and 2019, and the Rebels have also recorded their highest-ever national finishes in each of the last two seasons, taking 22nd in 2018 and 21st in 2019.
Ole Miss is receiving votes in the USTFCCCA National Women's Coaches Poll after having strung together three steady meets so far, taking runner-up at the SEC Preview and Live in Lou Classic before finishing fourth in a contentious dash to the finish over the last kilometer at the UAB Blazer Classic.
Senior Anna Elkin has been the top finisher for Ole Miss in all three meets, running a 5K PR at Louisville (17:00.4) and coming within one second of her 6K PR at UAB (20:32.21). Elkin's 6K season-best sits No. 17 in the SEC, and fellow senior Victoria Simmons joins her in the top-20 with her season-best of 20:41.34.
Like the men, the Rebel women return a decent portion of its SEC runner-up squad from a year ago. Other women running for Ole Miss on Friday include reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Skylar Boogerd, Brooke Gilmore, Ryann Helmers, Emma McClellan, two-time NCAA All-South Region runner Clio Ozanne-Jaques, Nicole Rice, Morgan Claire Rose, Cate Tracht, Ylvi Traxler and Loral Winn.
Competition begins live on SEC Network with the women's 6K at 9 a.m. CT followed by the men's 8K at 10 a.m. CT.
Ole Miss Women's Conference Roster • 6K: 9:05 a.m. CT
Name • Season Best (6K)
Skylar Boogerd • 21:11.72
Anna Elkin • 20:32.21 (17th SEC)
Brooke Gilmore • 22:25.46
Ryann Helmers • 21:14.48
Emma McClellan • 21:23.30
Clio Ozanne-Jaques • 21:10.72
Nicole Rice • 21:27.82
Morgan Claire Rose • 22:05.46
Victoria Simmons • 20:41.34 (20th SEC)
Cate Tracht • 22:36.45
Ylvi Traxler • 22:03.10
Loral Winn • 21:24.54
Ole Miss Men's Conference Roster • 8K: 10 a.m. CT
Name • Season Best (8K)
Cade Bethmann • 24:31.50
Cole Bullock • 23:26.00 (3rd SEC)
Michael Coccia • 24:10.00 (18th SEC)
Jack Filan • 24:56.30
Mario Garcia Romo • 23:25.75 (2nd SEC)
Dalton Hengst • 24:12.90 (19th SEC)
Tyler Moore • 25:27.07
Ben Savino • 24:15.70
Robinson Snider • 24:48.60
Waleed Suliman • 23:30.39 (5th SEC)
SEC Men's Preseason Poll
1. #3 Arkansas (9) – 13
2. #19 Ole Miss (3) – 20
3. (RV) Alabama – 37
4. Missouri – 50
5. Texas A&M – 51
6. Kentucky – 52
7. Florida – 71
8. Tennessee – 79
9. LSU – 94
10. Georgia – 97
11. Vanderbilt – 111
12. Auburn – 117
SEC Women's Preseason Poll
1. #1 Arkansas (13) – 13
2. (RV) Ole Miss (1) – 31
3. Alabama – 53
4. Missouri – 58
5. Florida – 63
5. Tennessee – 63
7. Kentucky – 88
8. Vanderbilt – 96
9. Georgia – 107
10. Texas A&M – 118
11. Auburn – 123
12. LSU – 141
13. Mississippi State – 154
14. South Carolina – 166
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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Who To Watch: Ole Miss Track and Field
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