James MinzesheimerThe Ole Miss men’s and women’s cross-country teams opened up the season on Saturday by placing second at the Louisiana State University’s Southeastern Conference (SEC) preview.
The men’s team had a great day running in the 6K as three Ole Miss runners finished in the top 10, including Mario Garcia Romo in first, Waleed Suliman in fourth and Cole Bullock in fifth place.
Even with these strong finishes, Ole Miss was not able to collect the points they needed to defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Ole Miss women’s cross country had five runners finish in the top 12, including Anna Elkin in sixth, Skylar Boogerd in seventh, Victoria Simmons in eighth, Ryann Helmers in eleventh and Nicole Rice in twelfth place. The women also finished a few points short and fell to Arkansas. This competition seemed to be a rematch of the SEC women’s cross-country championship last season in which Arkansas took down runner-up Ole Miss en route to a national championship.
“It was really nice to get back in the competitive arena this weekend. We got a chance to see where we are as a team and an opportunity to preview the SEC Championship course,” associate head coach Ryan Vanhoy said. “We look forward to continuing to build over the next six weeks and returning here on Oct. 30.”
When Ole Miss returns to Baton Rouge on Oct. 30, the stakes will be much higher than those at this early season meet. The male runners will look to defend last year’s SEC championship while the women will look for a title.
The Rebels’ next race is set for Oct. 3 at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Kentucky.
