Kunc Claims Second Straight SECXC Bronze

ATHENS, Ga. – For the second year in a row, Katy Kunc claimed the Southeastern Conference Cross Country bronze medal, leading the way for Kentucky, this year to a sixth place team finish – up a spot from a year ago.

The Kentucky men’s team finished fourth overall with Jacob Thomson the first Wildcat to finish, placing fifth.
 
A one-hour SEC Cross Country Championships highlight show will air Sunday, Nov. 5 at noon ET on the SEC Network.

Men’s team report
Arkansas won its eighth consecutive SEC Cross Country title with 41 points. Alabama had the top three finishers and placed second overall on 81 points to edge Ole Miss by one.

The Kentucky men’s team finished fourth, one place off last year’s result, with 110 points.

Thomson ran a sporty 23:44.20 to finish fifth, up two spots from his SEC place last season. Ben Young was next to cross the finish line at 8,000 meters in 24:31.40.

Daniel Southard and Brennan Fields each earned top-20 finishes running times of 24:32.50 and 24:43.70 to finish 22nd and 28th respectively. Matthew Thomas rounded out UK’s scorers placing 36th to score 35 with a time of 24:59.80.

Women’s team report
Arkansas won SECs for the fifth year in a row. Host UGA was second with 88 points. Ole Miss, Missouri and Mississippi State rounded out the top five. Kentucky was sixth on 170 points, three behind MSU and six back of fourth-place Mizzou.

Kentucky was seventh last year, and 12th in 2015 at SECs.

Defending NCAA Champion Karissa Schweizer (Missouri) won with a 6k time of 19:36.30.

Kunc ran 20:13.20 to regain her SEC bronze. She medaled at SECs for the second time, to go along with the gold she claimed in outdoor track by winning the 2017 3k steeplechase.
 
Avery Bussjager turned in a strong 23rd-place performance crossing in 21:10.60, while Michelle McKinney was 31st in 21:31.90 to score 30.

Sarah Crawford and Caitlin Shepard rounded out Kentucky’s scorers with 57th and 62nd-place times of 22:09.60 and 22:15.10 respectively.  

Cross country refresher
Points are scored in cross country corresponding to finishing place. The place of each of the top five finishers on each team are added up and the team with the lowest total wins. Placers outside a team’s top five cannot score so finishers on other teams that might finish behind a team’s No. 6 or No. 7 finisher can get a point total fewer than their overall place in the race.
 
Men’s Team Results
1. Arkansas: 41
2. Alabama: 81
3. Ole Miss: 82
4. Kentucky: 110
5. Tennessee: 125
 
Men’s Individual Results (Winner and UK only)
1. Vincent Kiprop (Alabama): 32.15.40
5. Jacob Thomson: 23:44.20
20. Ben Young: 24:31.40
22. Daniel Southard: 24:32.50
28. Brennan Fields: 24:43.70
36. Matthew Thomas: 24:59.80 (35 points)
57. Alex Mortimer: 25:28.40
59. Cole Dowdy: 25:33.30
60. Kendall Muhammad: 25:34.40
89. Tanner Dowdy: 26:12.70

Women’s Team Results
1. Arkansas: 35
2. Georgia: 88
3. Ole Miss: 103
4. Missouri: 164
5. Mississippi State: 167
6. Kentucky: 170

Women’s Individual Results (Winner and UK only)
1. Karissa Schweizer (Missouri): 19:36.30
3. Katy Kunc: 20:13.20
23. Avery Bussjager: 21:10.60
31. Michelle McKinney: 21:31.90 (30 points)
57. Sarah Crawford: 22:09.60 (55 points)
62. Caitlin Shepard: 22:15.10 (59 points)
90. Madisyn Peeples: 22:46.60
 
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For the most in-depth coverage of the UK cross country and track and field program follow the @KentuckyTrack social media channels on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as well as on UKathletics.com.