The Ole Miss Men’s cross country team team finished No. 3 and the women finished No. 14 at the Pre-Nationals meet in Columbia, Mo., on Friday, Oct. 17.
At the Pre-Nationals invite, all top four teams were in the SEC. The Rebel men will look to keep their momentum going and secure the conference championship, although this may prove difficult considering the top four teams at Pre-Nationals were all from the SEC. The women, too, face a tall task, but if they continue to show the improvement they have made all season, they have the potential to place high.
The race was moved up one day due to the inclement weather forecasted for Saturday, and although rain was on the horizon, the Rebels’ spirits were not dampened. On the men’s side, host team Missouri had a hot start in what turned out to be a back-and-forth contest, but the Rebels executed their day perfectly. They consistently moved up in the team standings throughout the race and finished No. 3 despite coming through the first kilometer No. 20.
Redshirt junior Kidus Misgina was the hero of the eight kilometer race. He worked his way up from No. 169 all the way to No. 4 by the finish line with a time of 23:08. It was Misgina’s speed that put him in an excellent position to secure four points for the Rebels. Of all the runners in the field, Misgina had the fastest six kilometer (2:56.7) and seven kilometer (2:51.6) splits.
Not far behind Misgina was senior Toby Gillen, who finished the course with a time of 23:23.4 to secure the No. 11 spot. After dropping out in the last race, Gillen employed a similar strategy as Misgina and closed out strong for the Rebels.Other scorers for the Rebels included redshirt sophomore Lukas Ehrle at No. 34 spot and freshmen John Shoemaker and Owen Kelley, who crossed the line No. 66 and No. 67, respectively.
In the women’s race, the Lady Rebels finished No. 14 — largely thanks to redshirt senior Beth Arentz, who finished the six kilometer course in 20:16.2 to secure the No. 28 spot. Close behind was freshman Leah Penick, who finished No. 59 in 20:41.6.
Senior Sophie Baumann, redshirt sophomore Ella Johnson and junior Adie Luna rounded out the Lady Rebel scorers to help lift Ole Miss to No. 14 out of the 38 team field.
What’s next?
Both teams will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the SEC Championships on Friday, Oct. 31. For the Rebel men, this will be one of the toughest and tightest competitions of the season.
Full results for Pre-Nationals can be found here.
