UKXC Set for SEC Championships
COLUMBIA, Mo. — University of Kentucky cross country will compete in the Southeastern Conference Championship hosted by the University of Missouri on Friday, October 29.
The men’s 8K race will begin at 11:08 a.m. (ET) with 10 UKXC runners and the women’s 6K race will start at noon (ET) featuring 12 Wildcats.
The championship meet will feature live scoring and be broadcasted live on ESPN+.
Men:
Dylan Allen
Jake Allen
Andre Bollam-Godbott
Jacob Brizendine
Matt Duvall
Ethan Kern
Harper Moore
Gabe Szalay
Jackson Watts
Aaron Withrow
Women:
Perri Bockrath
Rachel Boice
Sophie Carrier
Jenna Gearing
Tori Herman
Kaylie Kenne
Kaitlyn Lacy
Phoebe McCowan
Jenna Schwinghamer
Mollie Roden
Kelli Walsh
Julz Williams
The Wildcats have had an exemplary season so far, with the women’s team being ranked in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 30 at 27 for the first time in the poll’s modern history. The women achieved this ranking after an eighth-place team finish at the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational.
At the 2020 SEC Cross Country Championship, the women’s team finished fourth and the men’s team finished fifth. The Wildcats return all of their top five runners on the men’s and women’s side.
2021 Top Performers
Herman has been the women’s team’s top performer this season, finishing in the top 25 of every race she has competed in. She accumulated a race win at the Commodore Classic (17:02.3), a 21st-place finish (16:43.4) at Notre Dame and a 22nd-place finish (20:16.1) at Florida State University Pre-Nationals 6K. The sophomore from South Carolina achieved personal bests in the 5K and 6K this season at Notre Dame and FSU, respectively.
Kern has led Kentucky’s male runners this season. In South Bend, Kern finished 46th (24:28.1) in the men’s five mile and when UKXC traveled to Mizzou earlier this season, he won the Missouri Opener 6K with a new course record of 17:36.9. At pre-nationals, Kern finished in 80th-place in the 8K (24:06.2).
Both Herman and Kern were members of the 2020 SEC Cross Country All-Freshman team after impressive runs at last year’s SEC Championships. Alongside them on the team were Duvall and Moore.
Duvall has finished closely behind Kern all season, placing 47th (24:29.7) at Notre Dame, third (17:47.2) at Missouri and 84th (24:09.1) at pre-nationals.
Gearing, the 2020 SEC Cross Country Silver Medalist, made her 2021 season debut in South Bend, finishing with an impressive 5K time of 17:04.7 in 53rd place. She followed that performance with a 63rd-place finish (20:47.9) in Tallahassee.
Bockrath has had an exceptional season, consistently running second fastest for the Wildcats. She led the team at ninth place in the Missouri Opener, finished fourth in the Commodore Classic, finished 52nd (17:04.6) at Notre Dame and 51st in Tallahassee.
Rounding out the top five for the women are Lacy and Boice, both of whom ran in the top 100 (60th, 93rd) at Notre Dame, followed by 104th- and 108th-place finishes at pre-nationals.
Jake Allen has followed Kern and Duvall all season, finishing 99th (24:15.5) at FSU, 62nd (24:40.7) at Notre Dame and sixth (17:50.5) at the Missouri Opener 6K.
Withrow has consistently finished the top five for the Kentucky men, finishing 134th (24:29.9) at FSU, 104th at Notre Dame, placed 10th in the Commodore Classic 8K with a time of 24:59.8 and 12th in the Missouri Opener 6K (18:10.9).
Next Up
UKXC will compete next at the NCCA Southeast Regional meet hosted by the Wildcats at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, November 12.
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