The University of Mississippi Athletics
Monday, March 15
Stillwater, Okla.
11:30 AM
Ole Miss
vs
NCAA Championships
Cross Country Looking to Finish Strong at Rescheduled NCAA Championships
3/14/2021 | Cross Country
<i class="icon-stats"></i> Live Results<i class="icon-tv"></i> Watch (ESPNU)<i class="icon-info-circled"></i> Championship Info
Championship Meet Set for 11:30 a.m. CT Monday on ESPNU
STILLWATER, Okla. – Less than 48 hours removed from a historic indoor national meet, both the Ole Miss men's and women's cross country teams will compete outside for the first time in more than four months at the rescheduled 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday. Both races at Oklahoma State will air live and commercial-free on ESPNU beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT, with the women's championship 6K set for 11:50 a.m. CT and the men's championship 10K scheduled for 12:40 p.m. CT.
Ole Miss – which enters ranked No. 15 in men's competition and No. 26 in women's – is one of just 17 programs this season to have qualified both its men's and women's teams, and one of just six schools in the nation to have done so the past five years alongside Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, NC State and Stanford. Not only have both Rebel squads qualified for the national meet these last five years, but when they've been there they've produced results. Ole Miss stands as one of just four schools nationwide to have placed both men and women within the top-25 the last five years beside BYU, Colorado and Stanford.
The Rebels are in the midst of a cross country renaissance under track & field and cross country head coach Connie Price-Smith and associate head coach Ryan Vanhoy, who have brought both the men's and women's programs to new heights. After having never qualified for NCAAs prior to 2014, the Ole Miss men are now on their seventh consecutive trip to the national meet – the pinnacle of which was a fourth-place podium finish in 2016. The Rebel men have been excellent as of late, taking two of the last three SEC team titles, four of the last six NCAA South Region titles and the first 1-2-3 SEC individual sweep in school history in 2020.
Ole Miss has been equally historic on the women's side, qualifying for the NCAA Championships each of the last five seasons (after having never qualified prior to 2016) and finishing at least third at the SEC Championships in the same timespan (after never finishing top-three prior). The Rebel women will look to make it three straight years of claiming a program record team finish at NCAAs following a 22nd-place showing in 2018 and the current record 21st-place finish in 2019.
Women's Championship 6K Preview – 11:50 a.m. CT
No. 26 Ole Miss Women • NCAA Roster
Skylar Boogerd
Anna Elkin
Ryann Helmers
Maddie King
Victoria Simmons
Kristel van den Berg
Sintayehu Vissa
Loral Winn
Three members of the Rebel women's championship roster will be running on short rest after notching a First-Team All-American finish in the distance medley relay on Friday night. Those three include Maddie King, Sintayehu Vissa and Loral Winn, with the newcomer Vissa making her cross country debut for Ole Miss. All three Rebels took turns setting the indoor mile record this season – along with Anna Elkin – with Vissa's 4:40.99 standing as the best.
Elkin, the top NCAA returner for Ole Miss on the women's side, also had a superb indoor season with a school record of her own in the 3K (9:17.19) and the second-best 5K in program history (16:13.38).
Ole Miss took third at the SEC Championships in the women's race behind No. 1 Arkansas and No. 13 Alabama, holding off a late charge from Kentucky for their fifth straight top-three finish.
Elkin led the way, earning her first career All-SEC honors on the Second-Team with an eighth-place finish at a 16-second 6K PR of 20:15.9. Fellow senior Victoria Simmons earned her second straight Second-Team honor with a 14th-place showing at 20:37.8. Other Rebel SEC scorers in competition on Monday include Ryann Helmers, who finished 29th at 21:02.4.
Men's Championship 10K Preview – 12:40 p.m. CT
No. 15 Ole Miss Men • NCAA Roster
Cade Bethmann
Cole Bullock
Mario Garcia Romo
Dalton Hengst
Nick Moulai
Ben Savino
Robinson Snider
Waleed Suliman
It will be a similar story for the No. 15 Rebel men, with Mario Garcia Romo and Waleed Suliman coming off an intense two days of competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Garcia Romo ran anchor on the NCAA runner-up men's distance medley relay in 3:53.28 before taking third in the 3K one day later at 7:48.59. Suliman had an extra race to his credit, breaking the four-minute barrier in the mile twice before a third-place finish at 3:57.26, as well as a 15th-place finish in the 3K at 8:02.31.
Garcia Romo is in the midst of a storybook season for the Rebels, after leading the Ole Miss 1-2-3 sweep at the SEC Cross Country Championships last fall ahead of sophomore Cole Bullock in second and Suliman in third. He became the third Rebel to win an SEC title and was named SEC Runner of the Year for his efforts. Both Garcia Romo and Suliman scored 12.5 SEC points, with Garcia Romo notching eight NCAA points (most by a Rebel since 2014), and Suliman six.
Suliman has earned All-American honors each of his last two cross country national meets, becoming the first Rebel to ever earn the distinction multiple times following a 36th-place finish in 2018 and a 20th-place finish in 2019.
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Ole Miss – which enters ranked No. 15 in men's competition and No. 26 in women's – is one of just 17 programs this season to have qualified both its men's and women's teams, and one of just six schools in the nation to have done so the past five years alongside Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, NC State and Stanford. Not only have both Rebel squads qualified for the national meet these last five years, but when they've been there they've produced results. Ole Miss stands as one of just four schools nationwide to have placed both men and women within the top-25 the last five years beside BYU, Colorado and Stanford.
The Rebels are in the midst of a cross country renaissance under track & field and cross country head coach Connie Price-Smith and associate head coach Ryan Vanhoy, who have brought both the men's and women's programs to new heights. After having never qualified for NCAAs prior to 2014, the Ole Miss men are now on their seventh consecutive trip to the national meet – the pinnacle of which was a fourth-place podium finish in 2016. The Rebel men have been excellent as of late, taking two of the last three SEC team titles, four of the last six NCAA South Region titles and the first 1-2-3 SEC individual sweep in school history in 2020.
Ole Miss has been equally historic on the women's side, qualifying for the NCAA Championships each of the last five seasons (after having never qualified prior to 2016) and finishing at least third at the SEC Championships in the same timespan (after never finishing top-three prior). The Rebel women will look to make it three straight years of claiming a program record team finish at NCAAs following a 22nd-place showing in 2018 and the current record 21st-place finish in 2019.
Women's Championship 6K Preview – 11:50 a.m. CT
No. 26 Ole Miss Women • NCAA Roster
Skylar Boogerd
Anna Elkin
Ryann Helmers
Maddie King
Victoria Simmons
Kristel van den Berg
Sintayehu Vissa
Loral Winn
Three members of the Rebel women's championship roster will be running on short rest after notching a First-Team All-American finish in the distance medley relay on Friday night. Those three include Maddie King, Sintayehu Vissa and Loral Winn, with the newcomer Vissa making her cross country debut for Ole Miss. All three Rebels took turns setting the indoor mile record this season – along with Anna Elkin – with Vissa's 4:40.99 standing as the best.
Elkin, the top NCAA returner for Ole Miss on the women's side, also had a superb indoor season with a school record of her own in the 3K (9:17.19) and the second-best 5K in program history (16:13.38).
Ole Miss took third at the SEC Championships in the women's race behind No. 1 Arkansas and No. 13 Alabama, holding off a late charge from Kentucky for their fifth straight top-three finish.
Elkin led the way, earning her first career All-SEC honors on the Second-Team with an eighth-place finish at a 16-second 6K PR of 20:15.9. Fellow senior Victoria Simmons earned her second straight Second-Team honor with a 14th-place showing at 20:37.8. Other Rebel SEC scorers in competition on Monday include Ryann Helmers, who finished 29th at 21:02.4.
Men's Championship 10K Preview – 12:40 p.m. CT
No. 15 Ole Miss Men • NCAA Roster
Cade Bethmann
Cole Bullock
Mario Garcia Romo
Dalton Hengst
Nick Moulai
Ben Savino
Robinson Snider
Waleed Suliman
It will be a similar story for the No. 15 Rebel men, with Mario Garcia Romo and Waleed Suliman coming off an intense two days of competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Garcia Romo ran anchor on the NCAA runner-up men's distance medley relay in 3:53.28 before taking third in the 3K one day later at 7:48.59. Suliman had an extra race to his credit, breaking the four-minute barrier in the mile twice before a third-place finish at 3:57.26, as well as a 15th-place finish in the 3K at 8:02.31.
Garcia Romo is in the midst of a storybook season for the Rebels, after leading the Ole Miss 1-2-3 sweep at the SEC Cross Country Championships last fall ahead of sophomore Cole Bullock in second and Suliman in third. He became the third Rebel to win an SEC title and was named SEC Runner of the Year for his efforts. Both Garcia Romo and Suliman scored 12.5 SEC points, with Garcia Romo notching eight NCAA points (most by a Rebel since 2014), and Suliman six.
Suliman has earned All-American honors each of his last two cross country national meets, becoming the first Rebel to ever earn the distinction multiple times following a 36th-place finish in 2018 and a 20th-place finish in 2019.
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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