Barrett FreemanThe men’s and women’s cross country teams ended their regular seasons on Oct. 16 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Classic. The squads had another impressive outing with the men’s and women’s teams finishing second and fourth overall, respectively.
With nine other teams present for the race, the competition was stiff right from the starting line. In the men’s 8k, junior Mario Garcia Romo and sophomore Cole Bullock led the pack once again, finishing second and third overall clocking times of 23:25:75 and 23:26:00.
Senior Waleed Suliman, who continues to be the backbone of the team, crossed the finish line at 23:30:39, locking in sixth place. With a late burst of energy, seniors Michael Coccia and Ben Savino finished 17th and second, but the team’s effort came up shy of the top place due to a dominant Arkansas Razorback team finishing with a score of 29.
The Rebels finished runner up with a score of 50, which was still significantly faster than the third and fourth place teams of Florida State, 97, and Tennessee, 110.
The women’s 6k race resulted in a fourth-place overall finish for the Rebels, which was a solid outing compared to the tight competition surrounding them.
Senior Anna Elikin extended her streak of finishing first for the Rebels for the third consecutive race, finishing 11th overall and just one second shy of her personal record at 20:32:31. Her teammate Victoria Simmons was right behind her finishing 16th at 20:41:34. Rounding out the pack for Ole Miss was Clio Ozanne-Jaques, Skylar Boogerd and Ryann Helmers, placing 30th, 31st and 33rd.
The defending national champions, Arkansas, finished first overall with a score of 42, while the Rebels’ fourth score of 118 came just behind Florida State of 115 and ahead of Tennessee and Kentucky with 121 and 126, respectively.
With the regular season coming to a close, Ole Miss has their eyes on the SEC Cross Country Championship on Oct. 30, which will be held in Baton Rouge, La.
