For the first time in nine years, Texas A&M cross country is set to host the SEC Championships on its home turf at the Watts Cross Country Course on Friday. The women’s 6K race is slated to begin at 9:08 a.m., with the men’s 8K starting at 9:50 a.m.
Distance coach Wendel McRaven noted the Aggies fared well in the SEC Championship races last year when the men finished fourth and the women finished sixth, adding he believes having home-field advantage will benefit both squads.
“We’re excited to host the SEC Championships,” distance coach Wendel McRaven said in a press release. “I like to think there is an advantage to racing at home; we know the course and get to stay in our usual routine, which is beneficial. This is also the start of the championships season for us, and it’s a point in the season we target.”
The Maroon and White are returning six-point scorers from last year’s SEC Championships in senior Jonathan Chung and sophomore Jack Johnston on the men’s side and senior Maddie Livingston, sophomore Shewaye Johnson, junior Kennady Fontenot and junior Emma Little on the women’s side.
A&M put together a historic performance at the 2023 SEC Championships with its two best team showings in over seven years. The men finished in fourth while the women placed sixth.
At their last event, the Aggies earned two top-10 finishes, with the men securing third place and the women achieving ninth at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Freshman Maddie Peters led the way for the women, finishing the race in 20 minutes and 9.8 seconds and 33rd place, propelling her to be the top point scorer for the team. Sophomore Zach Munger paced the men’s squad for the fourth consecutive event with a 17th-place finish after posting a time of 23:09.9.
The Aggies wrapped up their regular season with a record of 51-26 for the men’s division and 50-32 for the women’s division.
“The women’s side of the championships is very deep with a lot of good teams, while the men’s side has great top-end talent,” McRaven said in a press release.
The conference championship includes all 16 SEC schools, excluding South Carolina and Mississippi State on the men’s side. Expect the competition to impress on both sides, as Arkansas and Alabama are nationally ranked third and 11th, respectively, in the men’s bracket, while Alabama, Florida and Texas are nationally ranked seventh, 14th and 28th, respectively, in the women’s division.
Kaleb Bunker is a political science senior and contributed this article from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.
