Dogs Head Back To Columbia For SEC XC Championships

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia cross country teams made the trip to South Carolina on Thursday in preparation for the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships at the Charwood Golf Course Friday morning.

When & Where: The Bulldog men will start the meet with their 8k race at 10:08 a.m. ET while the Lady Bulldogs will race in the 6k at 10:50 a.m.

Where To See The Meet: The meet will air live on the SEC Network and can be seen at the following link starting at 10 a.m. Friday: http://gado.gs/b1s

John Anderson (play by play) and Carrie Tollefson (analyst) will provide the coverage for the SECN.

Live Results: http://gado.gs/b1r

Weather: Temperatures are expected to be in the upper 60s to lower 70s under partly cloudy skies.

Chorny's Thoughts: "It's amazing how quickly the end of the season got here," said first-year Bulldog cross country coach Tom Chorny.  "I've been very pleased with the steady progression of this team since day one.  The whole group did their work over the summer, and it made for an easy transition into the season. Ultimately, the majority of the group has run much faster than they have in the past, and with a little taper and letting them get fresh for the race, I think we can expect some more big jumps in performance.  That always makes this time of year very exciting."

While Chorny understands the challenges his teams will face racing the rest of the SEC, he feels more comfortable that they have already raced the course once this season during the Gamecock Challenge on Sept. 15.

"This is a hard conference, and last year the teams finished ninth and 13th at this race, but this year they are ready for something much greater than that.  I'm glad that we previewed the course earlier in the season because that could give us a little advantage over the other teams.  It's always nice to walk into a place where you've already been so that there's no uncertainty about what to expect ... it's one less thing to worry about."

Chorny believes both of his teams have something to prove as they head into the postseason.

"With the way the men's team has come together, they are looking to disrupt the top five and if the women show up to race in the way I know they can, they could be right in the mix with four or five other teams battling for a sixth or seventh place finish.  We know that there are some nationally ranked teams in front of us, so it's important to have a realistic expectation and as we go forward.  These are important marks to shoot for so that we can continue to make this team better and better."

What Dogs Are Competing: Georgia is expecting to have 20 runners competing at the SEC meet.  On the women's side, seniors Charlotte Augenstein, Sophia Baker, Gracie O'Neal, sophomores Lily Cincola, Nina Ouellette, Simone Rojas, Lorel Golden, Katherine Law, Audrey Knoper and freshman Gracey Owens will represent the Red and Black.

Seniors Chase Condra, Wesley John, juniors Cole Heron, Zack Truitt, K.C. Heron, Zachary Roe, sophomore Ethan Nordman and freshmen Ryan Olree, Conner Rutherford and Luke Churchwell will take the course for the Bulldog men.

All-SEC Distinction: The All-SEC teams will consist of the top seven finishers from each gender (First Team) and the eighth through 14^th finishers (Second Team).  The All-Freshman Team consists of the top seven freshman finishers from each gender.

Experience at SECs, Debut Time For Others: Twelve of Georgia's competitors have at least one SEC race on their resume.  In fact, John will be racing in his fourth league meet on Friday after running in his first one in 2019.

John, who did not compete at SECs last year, had his best finish of 46^th in 2021.  Condra led the Bulldogs last year after taking 32^nd.  In 2020, Condra earned SEC All-Freshman honors after managing a 12^th place finish to be the second Bulldog across the line.  K.C. Heron scored in 2022 (68^th) and 2021 (82^nd) while Roe was 76^th to score in 2021.  In addition, Nordman raced last year and Cole Heron lined up at the meet in 2021.

Augenstein and Baker are each two-time SEC scorers from their 2022 and 2021 showings.  Augenstein was the team leader last year, taking 65^th, and was also in the top five two seasons ago, finishing 112^th.  Baker scored with 105^th and 120^th place finishes in 2022 and 2021, respectively.  Rojas, who was 93^rd to score last year, will be joined by Knoper, who slipped into the scoring column with a 108^th-place finish last year as a freshman.  Golden and Law also competed at the 2022 SEC Championships.

Eight Bulldogs have never competed at SECs.  O'Neal, Cincola, Ouellette and Owens from the women's team will be making their conference debut while Truitt, Olree, Rutherford and Churchwell will also be lining up for the first time at the league meet.

FLASHBACK – 2022 SEC Championships: Condra and Sam Bowers were the Bulldog front runners on the men's side while Augenstein led the Lady Bulldogs at the 2022 SEC Championships in Oxford, Miss.

Condra, a Suwannee, Ga., native, was Georgia's top finisher for the first time with Bowers coming in three spots behind him at the Ole Miss Golf Course to help the Bulldog men take ninth in the 8k with 229 points.

Augenstein, a native of Albany, Ga., managed a 65^th-place finish to lead the Georgia women to 13^th-place honors (395 points) in the 6k.

The men's race was the second of the day and Condra was the first Bulldog across the line for the first time in his career.  He ran a 24:21.07 to finish three spots in front of Bowers (24:25.28).  Bowers, who crept as high as 19^th in Friday's race, scored in four separate league meets.

Davis Potts scored for the first time in his career thanks to a 24:39.40.  The Bulldogs' fourth and fifth finishers crossed the line back-to-back in the 109-man field.  Sophomore Cooper Bocko (25:17.01) was 67^th to score after taking 90^th last year and finishing outside the top five.  KC Heron took 68^th (25:18.10).

The women's race started the morning on Ole Miss' campus with Augenstein leading the Red and Black with a 65^th-place showing (21:25.17).  Augenstein made a mammoth improvement to her 2021 finish (112^th) to score for the second year in a row after jumping up 14 spots in the last kilometer.  Rojas, who had scored in all four previous meets last year and led the Lady Bulldogs once, ran a 21:51.74 to take 93^rd for a scoring spot.

Baker and Ellie Hall worked together  to finish 105^th and 106^th to score for UGA.  Baker had a 22:08.85 to score for the second year in a row and better her spot by 16 spots at the midway point in the race.  Hall clocked a 22:10.60 for another scoring spot.  The fifth and final scorer was Knoper, who ran a 22:12.47 against 147 other competitors.  Knoper was only running in her fourth collegiate race and left as a scorer for the third time.

Last Time Out: Condra led the Bulldogs across the finish line for the third time in four meets to help Georgia conclude the regular season with a third-place finish at the Crimson Classic on Oct. 13.

Condra clocked a personal-best 8k time of 24:16.3 to place 13^th overall at the Alabama-hosted meet. Augenstein led the way for the Bulldog women with a 25^th-place finish, recording a career-best 6k time of 20:53.8.

The Georgia men scored 125 points in the 8k race, edging out Middle Tennessee (128) by three points to place third out of 21 teams. The Lady Bulldogs finished 12^th out of 24 teams in the 6k race, compiling 242 points in the regular season finale.

Condra was the first Bulldog to cross the finish line in the men's 8k race, placing 13^th with a time of 24:16.3. He was the Bulldogs' top finisher in three of the team's four regular season meets. Following close behind was Cole Heron, who placed 20^th with a career-best time of 24:30.0. The junior has scored in all four of Georgia's meets this season.

KC Heron was Georgia's third finisher in Tuscaloosa, clocking a time of 24:35.2 to place 23^rd, while Roe finished just seconds back in 34^th (24:44.7). Heron and Roe each scored for the fourth time this season while recording new personal-best 8k times. Scoring for the first time to round out the Bulldogs' top-five was Rutherford, who surged 16 places in the final 2,000 meters to finish 38^th(24:48.5).

On the women's side, Augenstein climbed steadily throughout the race to earn a 25th-place finish. The senior earned a new personal best of 20:53.8 to lead the Lady Bulldogs across the finish line for the third time in 2023. Coming in second for Georgia was O'Neal, who jumped 21 places in the final 2,000m to place 46^th. She posted a time of 21:10.1 in the second collegiate 6k of her career.

After leading the Lady Bulldogs at the Paul Short Run, Law put together another impressive performance with a career-best time of 21:11.8 and a 48^th-place finish. Finishing just under five seconds behind Law was Golden, who crossed the finish line in 54^th (21:16.0). Owens rounded out the top five for the Lady Bulldogs with a time of 21:27.2. The freshman used a big push in the final 2,000m to climb 25 places and finish 69^th overall.

What's Up Next: Following the start to their postseason, the Bulldogs will return to action at the NCAA South Regional in Gainesville, Fla., on Nov. 10.  This will mark Georgia's first time running at Florida in 2023.

Keeping Up With The Dogs: Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack).

Dogs Head Back To Columbia For SEC XC Championships

Players Mentioned

Charlotte Augenstein

Sophia Baker

Cooper Bocko

Sam Bowers

Luke Churchwell

Lily Cincola

Chase Condra

Lorel Golden

Ellie Hall

Cole Heron

KC Heron

Wesley John

Audrey Knoper

Katherine Law

Ethan Nordman

Gracie O'Neal

Ryan Olree

Nina Ouellette

Gracey Owens

Davis Potts

Zachary Roe

Simone Rojas

Conner Rutherford

Zack Truitt

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