Cross Country Set For Friday’s SEC Championships

Friday, November 1

College Station, Texas

University of Georgia

SEC Championship

Photo by: Conor Dillon/UGAAA

October 31, 2024 | Cross Country

ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia cross country teams are set to open the postseason with the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships, which will take place in Bryan-College Station, Texas, on Friday morning.

When Do The Starting Guns Fire: The SEC Championships will open with the women's 6k at 10:08 a.m. ET with the men to follow in the 8k at 10:50 a.m. Both races will take place at Watts Cross Country Course with the Southeastern Conference and Texas A&M serving as the hosts.

Where To See The Meet: Both races will air live on the SEC Network beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday with John Anderson (play by play) and Carrie Tollefson (analyst) providing coverage. The meet can be streamed here: https://gado.gs/c9y

Weather: Temperatures will be in the low-70s with cloudy skies at race time on Friday.

Live Results: https://gado.gs/c9z

Tribble's Thoughts: "This will undoubtedly be a tremendous challenge for both teams," head coach Adam Tribble said. "We're healthy, and across the board both groups have made good progress this fall. Hopefully we can do a good job of putting out big efforts and running with tremendous passion on Friday."

What Dogs Are Competing: Fifteen Bulldogs are set to compete in Friday's championship meet, including nine men and six women. The women's squad includes senior Gracie O'Neal; juniors Lorel Golden, Katherine Law and Nina Ouellette; and freshmen Kate Robinson and Izzy Yonas. O'Neal, Golden, Law, and Ouellette all competed in last year's SEC Championship meet while Robinson and Yonas will make their postseason debuts.

On the men's side, seniors Cole Heron, KC Heron, and Zack Truitt; redshirt sophomore Mark Trammell; sophomores Luke Churchwell, Ryan Olree, and Conner Rutherford; and freshmen Conor Clifford and Joseph Minecci will all compete for the Bulldogs. Trammell, Clifford, and Minecci will all run in their first SEC Championships while the remaining six Bulldogs all participated in the 2023 iteration of the meet.

All-SEC Distinction: The top 21 finishers from each gender at Friday's meet will earn All-SEC honors. The First Team will consist of the top seven finishers, the eighth through 14^th competitors will earn Second Team honors, and the 15^th through 21^st finishers will make up the Third Team, new to the SEC this year. Additionally the top seven freshman finishers from each gender will make up the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Bulldogs Bring Experience To SEC Meet: Ten of the 15 Bulldogs competing in Bryan-College Station have past experience at the SEC Championships while five Georgia runners will make their postseason debuts. KC Heron leads the way by making his fourth SEC Championship appearance on Friday while Cole Heron, Golden, and Law will compete in their their third SEC meet. Churchwell, Olree, Rutherford, Truitt, O'Neal, and Ouellette made their SEC debuts last season while Clifford, Minecci, Trammell, Robinson, and Yonas will compete at the meet for the first time this Friday.

KC Heron was a scorer in both the 2021 and 2022 meets, crossing the finish line 82^nd during his redshirt freshman season before improving to 78^th as a sophomore. In 2023, six current Bulldogs – Cole Heron, Rutherford, Truitt, Golden, Law, and O'Neal – finished in scoring position for the first time in their Georgia careers with Golden posting the Lady Bulldogs' top scoring performance.

A Look Back At The 2023 SEC Championships: Chase Condra (36^th) and Golden (65^th) led Georgia across the finish line at last year's SEC Championships as Georgia finished 10^th (men) and 14^th (women) at the South Carolina-hosted meet. Condra finished as Georgia's No. 1 scorer at SECs for the second time in as many years while Golden's performance marked the first top-scoring effort of her Lady Bulldog career.

On the men's side, Wesley John (50^th) and current Georgia competitors Rutherford (56^th), Truitt (57^th), and Cole Heron (70^th) rounded out the five scorers while O'Neal (78^th), Law (87^th), Charlotte Augenstein (94^th), and Sophia Baker (95^th) joined Golden in collecting points for the Lady Bulldogs.

Last Time Out: Georgia concluded its regular season two weeks ago at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with the men placing fifth and the women taking ninth. The men opened the day in the 8k, with Olree leading the way for the Bulldogs for the third time this season with an 11^th-place individual finish. KC Heron and Truitt crossed the finish line back-to-back in 35^th and 36^th while Trammell and Minecci placed 43^rd and 49^th, respectively.

Yonas crossed the finish line first among Lady Bulldogs in the 6k, finishing 18^th overall. Golden and Robinson completed the race next in 43^rd and 46^th while O'Neal and Law posted 66^th and 70^th-place finishes at the Alabama-hosted meet.

What's Up Next: The Bulldogs will continue postseason competition in Tallahassee, Fla., with the NCAA South Regional on Nov. 15. Those who qualify will continue their season at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23 in Madison, Wis.

Where To Find Bulldog News: Results and recaps from the Bulldogs' cross country season will be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.