UK senior Thomas Morgan was named the 2003 Southeastern Conference Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year, league officials announced Tuesday. The award was based on Morgan?s performances throughout the cross country season and was voted on by the coaches of the 12 member schools in the conference.

Morgan had an extraordinary year for the Cats, capped off with one of the best post-season runs in the country. Morgan captured the SEC Individual Championship in November, the first runner from UK to do so in 16 years. The Lexington, Ky., native then went on to win the NCAA Southeast Regional and lead his team to a second-place finish and a trip to only its 12th NCAA Championship race. During the postseason, Morgan broke the course record at the UGA Golf Course, site of the SEC Championships, and was named 2003 Southeast Region Runner of the Year. The former Lexington Catholic star also led the Wildcats to their first national ranking of the year after the NCAA Regional and posted the fastest 8k time in the SEC with his 24:59.25 performance at the league championship. In addition, Morgan claimed top-10 finishes in every meet he competed in during the season except for the NCAA Championships.

Auburn?s Angela Homan was named Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year, while Mike Poe of Arkansas and Georgia?s Kristin Heffelfinger were named SEC Male and Female Freshmen of the Year, respectively. J.J. Clark of Tennessee was voted as Female Coach of the Year, while Arkansas? John McDonnell was chosen as the Men?s Coach of the Year for the eighth consecutive season.