UKXC Men Third, Women Eighth at SECs

AUBURN, Ala. – The Kentucky men’s cross country team placed third at the Southeastern Conference Championships for the second time in the last three years on Friday at the Southeastern Conference Championships, which were held at Auburn’s Indian Pines Golf Course.

The UK women’s team finished eighth overall on a rainy morning traversing the mostly flat 2k loop.
 
The competition will be televised on a delay at 1 p.m. ET on November 4 on SEC Network.
 

Men’s team report
The Wildcats placed third, one place better than their team finish a year ago and equal the team finish from 2016.
 
Ben Young placed fifth with an 8,000-meter personal best 23:03.58 to earn First Team All-SEC honors for the first time in cross country.
 
Patrick Schaefer turned in an inspired run to place 18th in 23:34.08 sixth best among rookies to earn SEC All-Freshman team. Brennan Fields finished 23rd in 23:40.28, Kendall Muhammad was 29th in 23:47.09 and Matthew Thomas placed 48th in 24:09.11.
 
Kentucky was predicted to finish fifth at SECs by conference coaches in an August poll.

Women’s team report
Caitlin Shepard was UK’s top finisher, 19th overall with a 6k time of 20:01.77. Rachel Boice was UK’s No. 2 placer, 53rd in 20:43.23.
 
Kelli Walsh was 55th in 20:46.75, Sarah Michels ran 20:55.82 to earn 60th-place points and Madisyn Peeples rounded out UK’s top-five scorers in 69th with a time of 21:00.60.
 
 
The UK women’s team finished sixth at SECs a year ago. League coaches picked the Wildcats to finish 11th at SECs in a preseason poll.

The next competition
Kentucky will compete at the NCAA Southeast Regional, hosted by Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C., on Nov. 9. The NCAA Championships will be Saturday, Nov. 17 in Madison, Wis., with the University of Wisconsin Badgers serving as host institution.
 
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’ team results
1. Ole Miss: 38
2. Arkansas: 44
3. Kentucky: 122
4. Tennessee: 132
 
Women’s team results (Winner + UK only)
1. Arkansas: 24
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8. Kentucky: 242
 
Men’s individual results (winner + UK only)
1. Gilbert Boit (Arkansas): 22:20.13
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5. Ben Young: 23:03.58
18. Patrick Schaefer: 23:34.08
23. Brennan Fields: 23:40.28
29. Kendall Muhammad: 23:47.09
48. Matthew Thomas: 24:09.11
56. Trevor Warren: 24:17.38
74. Dylan Allen: 24:48.93
77. Tanner Dowdy: 24:59.97
81. Tom Moulai: 25:08.08
92. Cole Dowdy: 25:30.92
 
Women’s individual results (winner + UK only)
1. Jessica Pascoe (Florida): 18:54.98
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19. Caitlin Shepard: 20:01.77
53. Rachel Boice: 20:43.23
55. Kelli Walsh: 20:46.75
60. Sarah Michels: 20:55.82
69. Madisyn Peeples: 21:00.60
82. Mallory Liggett: 21:10.45
88. Sophie Carrier: 21:16.49
 
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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.