The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, October 29
Columbia, Mo.
10 AM
Ole Miss
vs
SEC Championships
Cross Country Men and Women Both Finish Second at SEC Championships
10/29/2021 | Cross Country
Mario Garcia Romo (Third) and Sintayehu Vissa (Sixth) Led Ole Miss
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Ole Miss men's and women's cross country both came away with runner-up team finishes amid difficult conditions at Mizzou's Gans Creek Cross Country Course on Friday morning for the 2021 SEC Cross Country Championships.
The Rebels awoke Friday to steady downpour, biting winds that gusted upwards of 25 miles per hour, and temperatures in the 40s. The rain subsided by the time the first gun sounded for the men's race at 10 a.m. CT, but the course – which is slated to host the 2025 NCAA Championships – still proved difficult to manage.
That said, Ole Miss came away with two runner-up team finishes, with the No. 28 Rebel men fighting neck-and-neck with No. 6 Arkansas down to the wire, falling 40-59, while the No. 11 Rebel women scored their second-fewest SEC points in program history, falling by just 15 points to perennial power No. 15 Arkansas 68-83 – the closest Ole Miss has ever come to a women's SEC title.
"Obviously we're happy enough to be second," said Ole Miss associate head coach for cross country Ryan Vanhoy. "Of course, you always come to this meet wanting to win and that's what we try to emphasize here every year. But with the tough conditions, and this hasn't been the best buildup this year for our men's team, so I think to show up at this meet and make it a close race against Arkansas, that was a good sign for where we are heading in the next couple of weeks. On the women's side, we just had some bad luck. We had a girl that fell early in the race, had a couple people who really struggled with the conditions and just didn't run as good as they normally do, and to win this kind of race you need to have five people who really run excellent, and we just did not have that today. Still, to be second in this conference, we're proud of that and happy enough for now. We just did not have enough people have a good enough day to win, and that was the reality of it for both sides."
The rain had mostly disappeared and the wind had died down for the start of the men's 8K race, which saw the Rebels stay consistent throughout, never straying further than 10 points from their final point total of 59. Senior Mario Garcia Romo – the reigning SEC Champion from 2020 – finished third at 23:38.2, his third career First-Team All-SEC honor. With his bronze medal finish, Garcia Romo has posted the best consecutive SEC finishes by a Rebel since Barnabas Kirui won back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.
Ole Miss had a tight spread of just 34.6 seconds, with Garcia Romo leading a scoring pack of fellow First-Team All-SEC member Cole Bullock (seventh, 23:47.0), Second-Team honoree Michael Coccia (eighth, 23:53.8), and then personal bests from both Nick Moulai (20th, 24:12.2) and Dereck Elkins (21st, 24:12.8).
By the time the women's 6K fired off at 10:50 a.m. CT, the wind gusts were back in full force. Skylar Boogerd, SEC Runner of the Week following her victory at North Alabama on Sept. 17, fell during the first kilometer, but the Rebels rallied and held firm, moving from third to second in the last kilometer. This is the third time Ole Miss has finished second at the SEC Championships in the women's race after doing so in 2016 and 2019. Prior to 2016, Ole Miss had never finished higher than fourth in the women's standings.
Junior Sintayehu Vissa, in just her sixth cross country race at Ole Miss, led the Rebel women with a gutsy and historic effort at the top of the pack. Vissa recorded the best individual finish in Ole Miss women's history in sixth place, nearly running a PR at 20:16.7 to become just the second Rebel to ever earn First-Team All-SEC honors (Mary Alex England, 2016, seventh place). Vissa recorded a 59th place finish in her first-ever cross country race as a Rebel at the NCAA Championships this past March, and she was also an All-American on the track indoors.
"She's really starting to come into her own as a cross country runner," Vanhoy said. "Just as a runner in general, I think she's really elevated her game in the last 12 months. I obviously thought that she was someone that could be around that top-five type position in the conference, so for her to be sixth that was a really good showing, but especially for her not having a lot of cross country experience to be able to show up in these conditions and still get it done."
Ryann Helmers earned Second-Team honors following a 14th-place finish at 20:40.8, and was followed by a scoring pack of Anna Elkin (16th, 20:43.9), Kristel van den Berg (21st, 20:58.0, PR) and Skylar Boogerd (26th, 21:07.6) who notched a spread of 49.1 seconds.
Ole Miss cross country now looks to keep this momentum rolling when the Rebels head back to Huntsville for the NCAA South Regional, hosted by North Alabama on Nov. 12.
Men's SEC Championships 8K Team Scores
1. #6 Arkansas – 40
2. #28 Ole Miss – 59
3. Missouri – 105
4. #22 Alabama – 132
5. Tennessee – 169
6. Kentucky – 183
7. Florida – 215
8. Georgia – 223
9. Texas A&M – 229
10. Auburn – 250
11. Vanderbilt – 253
12. LSU – 261
Men's SEC Championships 8K Individual Results
3. Mario Garcia Romo – 23:38.2 – First-Team All-SEC
7. Cole Bullock – 23:47.0 – First-Team All-SEC
8. Michael Coccia – 23:53.8 – Second-Team All-SEC
20. Nick Moulai – 24:12.2 – PR
21. Dereck Elkins – 24:12.8 – PR
24. Cruz Culpepper – 24:17.4 – PR
27. Cade Bethmann – 24:19.0
32. Ben Savino – 24:30.6
39. Dalton Hengst – 24:48.8
57. James Young – 25:11.0
Women's SEC Championships 6K Team Scores
1. #15 Arkansas – 68
2. #11 Ole Miss – 83 (second fewest SEC points in program history)
3. #5 Alabama – 91
4. Kentucky – 93
5. Tennessee – 136
6. Florida – 170
7. Missouri – 192
8. Vanderbilt – 214
9. Auburn – 253
10. LSU – 256
11. Texas A&M – 270
12. Georgia – 292
13. Mississippi State – 363
14. South Carolina – 435
Women's SEC Championships 6K Individual Results
6. Sintayehu Vissa – 20:16.7 – First-Team All-SEC (best SEC finish in Ole Miss women's history)
14. Ryann Helmers – 20:40.8 – Second-Team All-SEC
16. Anna Elkin – 20:43.9
21. Kristel van den Berg – 20:58.0 – PR
26. Skylar Boogerd – 21:07.6
34. Clio Ozanne-Jaques – 21:31.1
37. Loral Winn – 21:33.2
45. Lydia van Dijk – 21:43.8
63. Cate Tracht – 21:57.9
66. Morgan Claire Rose – 21:59.1 – PR
79. Brooke Gilmore – 22:14.4
87. Hannah Ielfield – 22:28.4 – PR
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
The Rebels awoke Friday to steady downpour, biting winds that gusted upwards of 25 miles per hour, and temperatures in the 40s. The rain subsided by the time the first gun sounded for the men's race at 10 a.m. CT, but the course – which is slated to host the 2025 NCAA Championships – still proved difficult to manage.
That said, Ole Miss came away with two runner-up team finishes, with the No. 28 Rebel men fighting neck-and-neck with No. 6 Arkansas down to the wire, falling 40-59, while the No. 11 Rebel women scored their second-fewest SEC points in program history, falling by just 15 points to perennial power No. 15 Arkansas 68-83 – the closest Ole Miss has ever come to a women's SEC title.
"Obviously we're happy enough to be second," said Ole Miss associate head coach for cross country Ryan Vanhoy. "Of course, you always come to this meet wanting to win and that's what we try to emphasize here every year. But with the tough conditions, and this hasn't been the best buildup this year for our men's team, so I think to show up at this meet and make it a close race against Arkansas, that was a good sign for where we are heading in the next couple of weeks. On the women's side, we just had some bad luck. We had a girl that fell early in the race, had a couple people who really struggled with the conditions and just didn't run as good as they normally do, and to win this kind of race you need to have five people who really run excellent, and we just did not have that today. Still, to be second in this conference, we're proud of that and happy enough for now. We just did not have enough people have a good enough day to win, and that was the reality of it for both sides."
The rain had mostly disappeared and the wind had died down for the start of the men's 8K race, which saw the Rebels stay consistent throughout, never straying further than 10 points from their final point total of 59. Senior Mario Garcia Romo – the reigning SEC Champion from 2020 – finished third at 23:38.2, his third career First-Team All-SEC honor. With his bronze medal finish, Garcia Romo has posted the best consecutive SEC finishes by a Rebel since Barnabas Kirui won back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.
Ole Miss had a tight spread of just 34.6 seconds, with Garcia Romo leading a scoring pack of fellow First-Team All-SEC member Cole Bullock (seventh, 23:47.0), Second-Team honoree Michael Coccia (eighth, 23:53.8), and then personal bests from both Nick Moulai (20th, 24:12.2) and Dereck Elkins (21st, 24:12.8).
By the time the women's 6K fired off at 10:50 a.m. CT, the wind gusts were back in full force. Skylar Boogerd, SEC Runner of the Week following her victory at North Alabama on Sept. 17, fell during the first kilometer, but the Rebels rallied and held firm, moving from third to second in the last kilometer. This is the third time Ole Miss has finished second at the SEC Championships in the women's race after doing so in 2016 and 2019. Prior to 2016, Ole Miss had never finished higher than fourth in the women's standings.
Junior Sintayehu Vissa, in just her sixth cross country race at Ole Miss, led the Rebel women with a gutsy and historic effort at the top of the pack. Vissa recorded the best individual finish in Ole Miss women's history in sixth place, nearly running a PR at 20:16.7 to become just the second Rebel to ever earn First-Team All-SEC honors (Mary Alex England, 2016, seventh place). Vissa recorded a 59th place finish in her first-ever cross country race as a Rebel at the NCAA Championships this past March, and she was also an All-American on the track indoors.
"She's really starting to come into her own as a cross country runner," Vanhoy said. "Just as a runner in general, I think she's really elevated her game in the last 12 months. I obviously thought that she was someone that could be around that top-five type position in the conference, so for her to be sixth that was a really good showing, but especially for her not having a lot of cross country experience to be able to show up in these conditions and still get it done."
Ryann Helmers earned Second-Team honors following a 14th-place finish at 20:40.8, and was followed by a scoring pack of Anna Elkin (16th, 20:43.9), Kristel van den Berg (21st, 20:58.0, PR) and Skylar Boogerd (26th, 21:07.6) who notched a spread of 49.1 seconds.
Ole Miss cross country now looks to keep this momentum rolling when the Rebels head back to Huntsville for the NCAA South Regional, hosted by North Alabama on Nov. 12.
Men's SEC Championships 8K Team Scores
1. #6 Arkansas – 40
2. #28 Ole Miss – 59
3. Missouri – 105
4. #22 Alabama – 132
5. Tennessee – 169
6. Kentucky – 183
7. Florida – 215
8. Georgia – 223
9. Texas A&M – 229
10. Auburn – 250
11. Vanderbilt – 253
12. LSU – 261
Men's SEC Championships 8K Individual Results
3. Mario Garcia Romo – 23:38.2 – First-Team All-SEC
7. Cole Bullock – 23:47.0 – First-Team All-SEC
8. Michael Coccia – 23:53.8 – Second-Team All-SEC
20. Nick Moulai – 24:12.2 – PR
21. Dereck Elkins – 24:12.8 – PR
24. Cruz Culpepper – 24:17.4 – PR
27. Cade Bethmann – 24:19.0
32. Ben Savino – 24:30.6
39. Dalton Hengst – 24:48.8
57. James Young – 25:11.0
Women's SEC Championships 6K Team Scores
1. #15 Arkansas – 68
2. #11 Ole Miss – 83 (second fewest SEC points in program history)
3. #5 Alabama – 91
4. Kentucky – 93
5. Tennessee – 136
6. Florida – 170
7. Missouri – 192
8. Vanderbilt – 214
9. Auburn – 253
10. LSU – 256
11. Texas A&M – 270
12. Georgia – 292
13. Mississippi State – 363
14. South Carolina – 435
Women's SEC Championships 6K Individual Results
6. Sintayehu Vissa – 20:16.7 – First-Team All-SEC (best SEC finish in Ole Miss women's history)
14. Ryann Helmers – 20:40.8 – Second-Team All-SEC
16. Anna Elkin – 20:43.9
21. Kristel van den Berg – 20:58.0 – PR
26. Skylar Boogerd – 21:07.6
34. Clio Ozanne-Jaques – 21:31.1
37. Loral Winn – 21:33.2
45. Lydia van Dijk – 21:43.8
63. Cate Tracht – 21:57.9
66. Morgan Claire Rose – 21:59.1 – PR
79. Brooke Gilmore – 22:14.4
87. Hannah Ielfield – 22:28.4 – PR
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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