2023 SEC Cross Country Championships

COLUMBIA, S.C. – On Friday, the Tennessee men’s and women’s cross country teams will com-pete at the 2023 SEC Cross Country Championships in Columbia, South Carolina, at Charwood Golf Course.The men’s 8K race is scheduled for a 10:08 a.m. ET start, while the women’s 6K race will be-gin at 10:50 a.m. An awards ceremony will follow the women’s race. Admission to the 2023 SEC Cross Championships is free and open to the public. This marks the fourth time South Carolina has served as host of the SEC Cross Country Championships and the fi rst since 2010.The Vols enter the meet ranked 13th in the nation – one of just three ranked SEC men’s squads – in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. They are led by second-year head coach Sean Carlson and rank fi rst in the South Region.Last season, the men placed second with 64 points – their best fi nish at the conference meet since 1999. Yaseen Abdalla fi nished third overall in 2022 and returns to the SEC Championships alongside Brett Brady, Dean Casey, Christopher Cherry, Brendan Gomez, Nate Kawalec, Jacob Lewis, Eli Nahom, Jacob Nenow, Brandon Olden and Gabriel Sanchez.The Lady Vols come to Columbia ranked 23rd nationally – marking their fi rst appearance in the USTFCCCA poll since 2009. Last season, the women placed sixth as a team at the conference meet.All fi ve scorers from last year’s squad – Kayla Gholar, Andie-Marie Jones, Rachel Sutliff, Callie Tucker and Msgana Araya – return for Friday’s championship race. They are bolstered by the additions of Jillian Candelino, Ashley Jones, Caroline Lyerly, Jessie Secor and Jaci Sievers.