Kelby ZendejasOle Miss junior cross country runner Mario Garcia Romo earned SEC Men’s Runner of the Year, the conference announced on Monday.
The junior runner garnered the accolade after leading the men’s team to a 1-2-3 podium sweep at the SEC Championship on Oct. 30 in Baton Rouge, La., with a time of 23:32:9 in the 8K race. Behind him were teammates sophomore Cole Bullock and senior Waleed Suliman.
The trio made the Men’s First Team All-SEC with Suliman winning the honor for the third time, Garcia Romo earning it for the second and Bullock being named to the team for the first time in his career.
The Salamanca, Spain native is the third Rebel runner to ever grasp the award, walking alongside Ole Miss alumni Pablo Sierra and Barnabas Kirui. Garcia Romo is also the only Rebel to win an SEC Cross Country title.
In his junior career, Garcia Romo earned the USTFCCCA Men’s National Athlete of the Week after leading the Rebels for a second-place slot at the LSU Preview in September. His first-place seed led the Rebel to win his first individual career title with a time of 17:23:3.
Women’s cross country had two team members named to the Second-Team All-SEC with senior Anna Elkin finishing 8th and senior Victoria Simmons finishing 14th place for her second time as a second-team recipient.
With the spring season schedule currently undeclared, cross country will await a January indoor track season and rescheduled NCAA Cross Country Championships in March.
