Junior Tyler Schneider finished fifth at Friday's SEC Championships
Oct. 31, 2014
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – It was a memorable Halloween for the Tigers' Cross Country squads, as they bagged a pair of fourth-place team finishes at the SEC Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday. Four individual award winners led the men and women, including the second consecutive top freshman finish for the women's team from Karissa Schweizer, who placed 17th overall.
"Overall, we're really excited about the way both teams competed," Head Coach Marc Burns said. "We came and threw down, followed the game plan, teams competed hard, and we walked away fourth and fourth feeling pretty good knowing that we're only going up from here. The future looks really really good for this team moving into the next couple of weeks and the next few years."
THE TIGER WOMEN
The ladies kicked off the morning's festivities with their 9 a.m. start on the Harry Pritchett 6000-meter Cross Country Course. Sophomore Kaitlyn Fischer, returning after her First Team All-SEC and Freshman of the Year performance in 2013, once again led the way for the black and gold, jumping in with the front pack from the gun and maintaining through 4000-meters. She crossed the finish in sixth overall, repeating her finish from last year, with a final time of 20:04.25.
"We are really excited about what the women did today - that was huge. Being ranked No. 7 in the pre-season, and running how we did two weeks ago, they did a great job preparing these last couple of weeks and executed the game plan to a 'T'," Burns said. "Kaitlyn Fischer led us the whole way, as she has all year. She put herself up front, fought like heck, and finished sixth, which is great."
Next across the line was Karissa Schweizer, crossing as the top freshman in the field with a final time of 20:41.13 for 17th overall. This is the second consecutive year that the Tigers have claimed the top freshman finish, after Fischer's sixth-place finish in 2013.
"Karissa did a great job," Burns said. "She was the one I was worried about, being a freshman and being by herself in the game plan, but she was perfect. She followed the plan perfectly and showed great poise; she really knows how to race."
Coming in next for the black and gold was senior Courtney Wood in 39th (21:08.23), followed by sophomore Nicole Mello in 44th (21:17.78), and sophomore Kayla Wolf in 48th (21:25.71).
"Courtney Wood and Nicole Mello came up big, leading the way for that second pack," Burns said. "Courtny [Wood] got us in the right spot, at one point Nicole was leading it, Kayla [Wolf] was up there, as was Courtney Brown, it was exciting to see. Those guys trusted the game plan, put themselves where they needed to be, kept slowly working up, and really finished strong. This was a great way for us to finish the SEC season."
Those five tallied a total of 142 points to claim a fourth-place team finish, a three-place improvement on their No. 7 pre-season ranking, and the top finish ever for the team at the Championship meet.
Tiger Finishes: 6. Kaitlyn Fischer, 20:04.25 | 17. Karissa Schweizer, 20:41.13 | 39. Courtney Wood, 21:08.23 | 44. Nicole Mello, 21:17.78 | 48. Kayla Wolf, 21:25.71 | 53. Courtney Brown, 21:31.47 | 57. Megan Cunningham, 21:35.87 | 58. Maria Effinger, 21:36.16 | 78. Jamie Kempfer, 21:58.97 | 81. Sam Garrett, 22:05.64
Team Results
1. Arkansas, 32 points
2. Vanderbilt, 85 points
3. Alabama, 140 points
4. Missouri, 142 points
5. Mississippi State, 171 points
6. Texas A&M, 187 points
7. Florida, 201 points
8. Kentucky, 215 points
9. Auburn, 217 points
10. Georgia, 222 points
11. Tennessee, 274 points
12. Ole Miss, 275 points
13. South Carolina, 348 points
14. LSU, 385 points
THE TIGER MEN
The men were also led by a pair of award winners, with junior Tyler Schneider crossing for his first All-SEC First Team finish, followed by sophomore Dan Roe in 14th for All-SEC Second Team. Schneider and Roe, along with sophomore T.J. Carey and senior Sam Dickerson, maintained a solid pack from the start, holding in with the chase pack through 4000-meters. Schneider broke away from the pack around the 5000-meter mark, ending up with a fifth-place finish overall in 24:30.34, the highest finish ever for a Tiger at the Championship meet.
"I feel like that was the best team race we've put together yet this year. Overall, the guys executed the game plan really well and, as a staff, we're really excited with how they competed, followed the game plan, and put themselves in it," Burns said. "To see Tyler Schneider up there in the top five was amazing. He started to slide back a little bit about halfway through the race, but got back on it and moved right back into the top five."
Roe was next, placing 14th in 24:55.42, followed by Carey in 18th with a final time of 25:00.88, and Dickerson in 24th (25:10.72). Sophomore Jordan Cook made up a lot of ground in the final half of the race, coming in just behind Dickerson for 26th (25:15.07), helping the team to a final tally of 87 points for fourth overall.
"Dan Roe finishing 14th was amazing, really proud of the way he competed today," Burns said. "But the biggest key for us today was Jordan Cook. That was a huge race for fifth, a phenomenal performance for him. He really just stepped up for us big time."
Tiger Finishes: 5. Tyler Schneider, 24:30.34 | 14. Dan Roe, 24:55.42 | 18. T.J. Carey, 25:00.88 | 24. Sam Dickerson, 25:10.72 | 26. Jordan Cook, 25:15.07 | 39. Drew White, 25:31.14 | 49. Kenny Cushing, 25:44.53 | 56. Chris Mooneyham, 25:56.10 | 71. Sheldon Keence, 26:15.83 | 72. Marc Dubrick, 26:16.53
Team Results
1. Arkansas, 54 points
2. Ole Miss, 60 points
3. Auburn, 77 points
4. Missouri, 87 points
5. Kentucky, 120 points
6. Alabama, 195 points
7. Tennessee, 205 points
8. Texas A&M, 207 points
9. Mississippi State, 249 points
10. Florida, 251 points
11. Georgia, 255 points
12. Vanderbilt, 357 points
13. LSU, 361 points
Championship season continues as the teams now look forward to the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Friday, November 14, in Peoria, Ill. For the latest on your Tigers, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MIZ_TrackField.