Official Site of the Southeastern Conference

2009 SEC Cross Country Awards Announced

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The University of Mississippi’s Barnabas Kirui and the University of Florida’s Rebecca Lowe were named the 2009 SEC Male and Female Cross Country Athletes of the Year announced the by Southeastern Conference Tuesday. Arkansas’ Solomon Haile and Alyssa Allison were named Male and Female Freshman of the Year, respectively. For the second consecutive year, Alabama’s Joe Walker was named Men’s Coach of the Year while Florida’s Todd Morgan was named Women’s Coach of the Year.

Kirui earned the honor after winning the Championship in a time of 24:24.75 in front of a home crowd. This marks the second SEC title for Kirui, who also won in 2006 and missed the last two seasons due to injury. Kirui is the only runner to win two titles for Ole Miss in Cross Country. Earlier in the season, the Kaplong, Kenya native finished ninth at the NCAA Pre-Nationals with a time of 23:55.50 in the 8K and had the top time of any SEC runner at the meet.

Lowe captured the individual title as she helped lead the Florida Gators to their fourth SEC team title, first since 1997. Lowe clocked in at 20:57.35 marking the 10th-best time in UF history for a 6K conference championship race. Earlier in the season, Lowe helped guide the Gators to a second-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals behind No. 1 Washington.

Arkansas’ Haile was the top freshman finisher on the men’s side with a time of 25:01.12 for a ninth-place finish. He was Arkansas’ third finisher overall and was also named to the All-SEC Second Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team. Haile has led the freshmen runners all season with his 8K best time of 24:01.79,which ranks seventh in the SEC overall.

Arkansas also was awarded Female Freshman of the Year as Alyssa Allison received the honor. Allison clocked a 6K time of 22:01.69 and was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team. This marks the fifth Freshman of the Year honor for the Razorback women’s program.

Alabama’s Walker earned his third career SEC Men’s Coach of the Year honor, second consecutive. Walker guided the Crimson Tide to their second straight SEC title, third title overall.

A career first came for Florida head coach Todd Morgan as he was selected SEC Women’s Coach of the Year. This marks the first coaching honor for the Gators since 1997, fourth overall. This season, the Gators have held a solid top 10 ranking in the USTFCCCA polls. At the SEC Championships, Florida had five runners finish in the top 10.

Next up for the teams are the NCAA Regionals, located at various sites throughout the country, Nov. 14. The sites include Tuscaloosa, Ala., Waco, Texas and Louisville, Ky. The NCAA National Championships will be held on Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind.

2009 SEC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Barnabas Kirui, Ole Miss

2009 SEC Male Freshman Athlete of the Year
Solomon Haile, Arkansas

2009 SEC Men’s Coach of the Year
Joe Walker, Alabama

2009 SEC Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Rebecca Lowe, Florida

2009 SEC Female Freshman Athlete of the Year
Alyssa Allison, Arkansas

2009 SEC Women’s Coach of the Year
Todd Morgan, Florida

Men's First Team
Barnabas Kirui, Jr. - Ole Miss
Dorian Ulrey, Jr. - Arkansas
Felix Kibioywo, Sr. - Auburn
Jean-Pierre Weerts, Sr. - Auburn
Ben Cheruiyot, Jr. - Auburn
Moses Kiptoo, So. - Alabama
Tyson David, Sr. - Alabama
Men's Second Team
Lane Boyer, Jr. - Arkansas
Solomon Haile, Fr. - Arkansas
Justin Taylor, Sr. - Florida
Michael Spooner, Jr. - Tennessee
Fred Samoei, Jr. - Alabama
Luis Orta, Fr. - Kentucky
Julius Bor, Jr. - Alabama
Men's All-Freshman Team
Solomon Haile - Arkansas
Luis Orta - Kentucky
Aaron Hamilton - Arkansas
Bill Matthews - Georgia
Matt Sonnenfeldt - Kentucky
Brett Richardson - Georgia
Leoule Degfae - Tennessee

Women's First Team
Rebecca Lowe, So. - Florida
Charlotte Browning, Jr. - Florida
Jackie Areson, Sr. - Tennessee
Kristie Krueger, So. - Georgia
Stacey Johnson, Jr. - Florida
Holly Knight, Jr. - Auburn
Genevieve LaCaze, So. - Florida
Women's Second Team
Stephanie Barnes, Jr. - Auburn
Julie Northrup, Sr. - Florida
Miranda Walker, Jr. - Arkansas
Bridget Lyons, Sr. - Georgia
Brittany Sheffey, Jr. - Tennessee
Katie Van Horn, Sr. - Tennessee
Chelsea Oswald, Fr. - Kentucky
Women's Freshman Team
Chelsea Oswald - Kentucky
Alyssa Allison - Arkansas
Cally Macumber - Kentucky
Jordan White - Vanderbilt
Taylor Johnson - Arkansas
Allie Scalf - Vanderbilt
Sydney Devore - Florida