Ole Miss Cross Country team grabs top honors.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After matching the best program finish at the SEC Championship two weeks ago, the Ole Miss men rewrote the record books again Friday.
For the first time in Ole Miss cross country history, the Rebels claimed the South Region Championship to earn a berth in the NCAA Championship. The Rebels’ 54 points was 42 points better than runner-up No. 21 Florida State in a decisive victory.
“I’m really proud of our young men and how they performed today,” Ole Miss head coach Brian O’Neal said. “We came here with the goal of securing one of the two automatic qualifying spots. We achieved that and more. We’re coming into our own and looking forward the NCAA Championship in eight days.”
Junior Wesley Gallagher (30:18.60) led the South Champions in the 10K event, good for third overall. Freshman Sean Tobin (30:19.30) and sophomore Robert Domanic (30:20.00) finished right on his heels in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Sophomore Trevor Gilley (30:58.30) clocked the 19th overall time, and freshman Taylor Caldwell (31:02.00) finished 24th overall to round out the Rebels’ five scoring times. Mark Robertson’s (31:14.50) 29th finish, while not scoring for Ole Miss, was better than every other team’s fourth-place finisher.
Gallagher, Tobin, Domanic, Gilley and Caldwell all earned All-Region honors. Last season, Domanic was the only All-Region selection for the Rebels.
The Rebels surged to first in the region after finishing ninth last year. The Rebels had finished no better than seventh since 2005 at regionals.
“These men have bought in to the vision that we could compete on the big stage here,” O’Neal said. “A lot of people told them it couldn’t happen. I can’t say enough about Coach (Ryan) Vanhoy and what he’s meant to this program. How far this group has come is a testament to everyone buying in to the Ole Miss way.”
The three top-five finishers match the previous program total of top-five regional finishes all-time. Barnabas Kirui finished first in 2006 and second in 2009, and Bernard Kuria was fourth in 1997.
The Rebels will make their NCAA Championship debut in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Saturday, Nov. 22. The Rebels ran on the Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course early in the season at the Pre-Nationals Invitational.
The Ole Miss women finished 13th out of 29 teams at the regional, led by Margaret Harkness at 55th overall.