Nov. 1, 2010

Georgia sophomore Kristie Krueger
It was fun. I like the course. I’m just so excited. Freshman year I never would have dreamed that I could do this, but Coach (Jeff) Pigg and my teammates have helped me along. It’s just been fun.

You finished well ahead of the pack, take us through the race.
I just wanted to start out and see if I felt comfortable, at least to half way, and I was going to see how strong I felt and try to start pulling away. Thankfully I felt pretty good, so it turned out well.

What’s been going so well for you lately?
Coach (Jeff) Pigg (and) his awesome training techniques. I’ve just been working hard. I trust him. It’s good to get out here and test my fitness and see what I can do.

What goals do you have for the rest of the season?
I want to be an All-American. That’s my main goal, and get ready for track season. I love track.

Georgia Cross Country Coach Jeff Pig
On the training techniques Kristie credited you with
It’s about the day in day out. It’s a lifestyle and a desire. I love coming to meets with her in my team

How has she been getting better over the last three months?
It’s been a build-up of three years of work. It’s a consistent effort and her day in day out lifestyle.

Where do you see her going?
That’s the thrill of the chase, seeing what we can get, how much better she can get. When you get better you’re having fun.

Mississippi Senior Barnabas Kirui
What does it mean to win a third SEC Championship?
It means a lot. I’ve been training very hard for a long time. There have been ups and downs since I won the first time as a freshman, but it’s great to win again in my last SEC Championship.

How did you prepare for the race today?
I trained hard all season. Today the weather was not a big factor. Fortunately today we had weather that was similar to what we have faced all season. The wind and the conditions were favorable today.

Mississippi Cross Country Coach Doug Blackwell
What makes Barnabus Kirui so special ?
His desire to win. He comes from a tough background, but he had a tremendous desire to get an education. He has a great overall desire and he’s a winner in every sense of the word.

Where do you see him going with his running?
Well I hope somebody picks him up so that he can continue to run. He’s battled through some arthritis, but we’ve got that taken care of now. He’s done as well in the Olympic Trials than anybody we’ve had here recently so hopefully that will take him somewhere. He’s got a bright future.

Florida Cross Country Coach Todd Morgan
The girls really believed that they were not gong to lose today. There was a lot of place changing even in the last 600 to 800 meters of the race and it just shows the character of the girls to come out here and win this morning.

To win last year was phenomenal, but to come back and win again is really a different approach. We’ve battled injuries and had to overcome some obstacles this season, but the girls have fought through that and they never had a doubt that they were going to win.

Arkansas Men’s Cross Country Coach Chris Bucknam

We’re very happy. I’m proud of my athletes. I `m happy for them. They’ve worked awfully hard, and it’s nice to show something from that hard work. We’re excited about it and we’re going to move to the national’s now.

We feel good. This is our second title in 2010. We won the indoor title in the winter time and finish off the year with an SEC title. Anytime you win an SEC title, it’s the best. It’s not easy to do. I’m really proud of our athletes. They did a great job.