Auburn's young cross-country squad will travel to Tuscaloosa for the South regional tournament Nov. 12.
Led by freshmen Niklas Buhner and Kane Grimster on the men's team, the Tigers are hoping their familiarity with the course will help them to a top-five finish.
"We raced there about a month ago at the Crimson Classic," said coach Mark Carroll. "Everybody has seen the course, so they all have an idea of what is coming this weekend."
The Tigers are ranked 12th heading into the 26-team regional.
Having faced and beaten many of Saturday's competitors, Carroll is hoping for a solid showing by the men.
"A lot of the teams we've raced at one point or another throughout the season, and I think we've beaten most of them," Carroll said. "There's 26 teams on the men's side, and we're ranked 12th, so I'm going to say top-five, top-six."
Buhner and Grimster have alternated first and second places for Auburn this season.
Grimster finished 14th overall in the SEC Championship, and Carroll said Buhner would have finished right with him if it weren't for a fall two miles into the race.
"I think Kane in particular had a super run at the SEC," Carroll said. "He ran a very mature race where he didn't get mixed up in the fast pace, and he came in 14th. Kane is really a miler, so an eight-kilometer race isn't really his specialty. So for a miler to finish 14th in the SEC is very good."
The Tigers have two seniors and no juniors on the roster, so the freshmen have been asked to lead the team early in their careers.
Carroll said their impact depends on how good the freshman are in regards to when they are able to contribute.
"To put in perspective, Kane has run 3:44 for 1,500 meters, which is approximately 4:01 for a mile," Carroll said. "Niklas has run 3:46 in the 1,500, which is about a 4:03 mile. You've got two guys very close to four-minute miles, so when you have good guys like that coming in, you expect them to be right up there leading the team."
Carroll is in his third season coaching the Tigers and is still working to shape the roster into his team.
"I'm beginning to build my team now," Carroll said. "The team I inherited had juniors and seniors, so those guys are gone at this point. So I'm finally building my team. I think we've already seen some really good results from Niklas and Kane this year. I hope they are all going to continue to improve and develop and do some good things for us."
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