The University of Alabama cross country teams began the championship portion of their schedule on Friday morning as the men’s and women’s teams both finished 11th in their respective divisions at the Southeastern Conference Championships held at Percy Warner Park and hosted by Vanderbilt University.
The UA men’s team finished with 309 points, placing ahead of Vanderbilt (358) and LSU (378). Arkansas won the men’s title, its 20th in 22 years, with 35 points, while Georgia was second (73), and Missouri and Texas A&M tied for third with 80. The women’s team amassed 268 points while finishing ahead of Tennessee (285), Missouri (296) and Auburn (378). Florida won the women’s championship with 61 points, ahead of both Arkansas (70) and Vanderbilt (119).
“Much of what we have tried to do this season is set a foundation of competitiveness for the future,” UA head coach Dan Waters said. “I thought our men’s team did that today, especially Robbie [Farnham-Rose]. He was gutsy today, running injured, and he put it all on the line for us. The men’s team showed a lot of improvement over the last few weeks. This is the start of something good for them. On the other side, I was disappointed by our women’s team today. There’s no sense in glossing it over. We just didn’t compete the way I expect us to.”
Freshman Robbie Farnham-Rose paced the men’s team with a 56th place finish and a time of 25:30.68 over the 7,985-meter course. Freshmen Parker Deuel and Gil Walton trailed Farnham-Rose, coming in 61st and 71st, respectively. Sophomore Matt Joyner and freshman Eric Sivill were the Tide’s final two scorers, as Walton finished 71st, followed by Sivill in 89th.
Freshman Katelyn Greenleaf was the Alabama women’s top finisher on the 6,050-meter course, in 20th place with a time of 21:19.31 to earn a spot on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team. Senior Elsbeth Denton was Alabama’s next finisher, placing 47th in 21:47.29. Freshman Susie Kemper and junior Palee Myrex crossed next for the Tide, coming in 66th and 69th, respectively. Freshman Meropi Panagiotou wrapped up the scoring for the women’s team with a 78th place finish.
