Five Southeastern Conference (SEC) cross country programs featured at the just concluded 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 15 and this is how they fared at the championships at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla.
Arkansas Leads The Way For SEC Men
Three men’s programs – Arkansas and Ole Miss competed in the 10K race and joined the battle for the top prize, while Alabama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss were the three teams representing the SEC on the women’s side.
The No. 3 ranked Razorbacks finished fourth in the men’s team title race, which was captured by No. 2 Northern Arizona which tallied 60 points to secure the program’s fourth national cross country title.
Arkansas placed all its five scorers inside the Top 50 finishers, but were beaten on the today by three superior teams.
No. 9 Notre Dame had its best performance of the year at the right time and the result was a second place finish after tallying 87 points. Host school and No. 6 Oklahoma State also grabbed a podium finish after scoring 142 points for third place.
No. 15 Ole Miss was 12th on the day with 373 points. The Rebels have three finishers in the Top 50, but fell down the pecking order as the fourth and fifth place runners were not able to stay in close proximity.
Amon Kemboi of Arkansas was the highest SEC individual finisher in the men’s 10K – cross the finishing 11th in 30:14.2.
Ole Miss sophomore Cole Bullock was also in the Top 20 – ending the championships in 18th place in a time of 30:24.7.
BYU’s Conner Mantz won the men’s 10K with an impressive 29:26.1, with Adriaan Wildschutt of Florida State taking second with 29:48.2, and Wesley Kiptoo Iowa State finishing third with 29:54.9.
Kieran Wood of Missouri was 188th in the individual men’s race with 32:40.1
How Did The SEC Women Fared?
Meanwhile, No. 13 Alabama led the way on the women’s side with an 8th place finish in the team standings.
The Crimson Tide who were led by individual champion Mercy Chelangat who ran an impressive 20:01.1 for the gold medal in the women’s 6K and sophomore Amaris Tyynismaa Alabama who was third overall with 20:10.2.
The SEC outfit Alabama totaled 280 points to secure the top 10 finish.
Also representing the SEC was No. 1 Arkansas, who disappointing finished 10th. The Razorbacks totaled 316 points.
The No. 26 Ole Miss Rebels were 12th in the team standing with 325 points.
Sarah Chapman of Missouri finished 47th in the individual women’s race with 21:03.5, while Tennessee’s Sydney Seymour finished 105th.
