KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Auburn freshman Kane Grimster finished the men’s race 14th and Elizabeth Briasco was 18th in women’s action at the 2011 SEC cross country championships hosted by the University of Tennessee on Monday.

Grimster was one of just three freshmen in the top 15 on the men’s side and was named to the All-SEC freshman team as well as a second team All-SEC performer for his efforts. He finished in 24:48.02 — a season-best on an 8-kilometer course for the Australia native.

Fellow freshman Niklas Buhner had been expected to finish near the top, but a fall in mile two hurt the German’s pace. Buhner ended up placing 45th and posting a time of 25:44.31.

A pair of seniors added solid performances to cap their college careers at the SEC meet. Team captain Joby Peake was Auburn’s second-best finisher in 35th place (25:25.59), and Mandeville, La., native Jeff Sanders crossed the finish line in 25:37.20 (39th place).

Peake’s time was a new career-best mark, while Sanders posted a season-best performance in an 8K. Freshman Griffin Jaworski rounded out Auburn’s scorers with a 50th place finish and new PR (25:58.09).

The men finished in eighth place with 183 points, just four behind seventh-place Ole Miss. Arkansas took the men’s title with 33 points.

On the women’s side, it was once again Briasco, a sophomore, and junior Alissa Fisher leading the Auburn charge. The women placed 10th with 247 points. Vanderbilt (30 points) won the women’s championship.

Briasco made a late push in the final mile to claim 19th place in 21:25.14 — a 90-second improvement over her performance in the 2010 SEC Championships as a freshman. Fisher also had a solid day in her first conference meet. The Huntsville native placed 31st and finished her first 6K run in 21:42.39.

MEN’S GOLF
Christian earns tour card
After 14 years of playing professionally, former Auburn golfer Gary Christian was awarded his 2012 PGA Tour Card on Sunday following a 2011 Nationwide Tour season that left him ninth on the money list with three top-10s and a win at the Mylan Classic in Canonsburg, Penn.

Christian, 40, spent the last six years on the Nationwide Tour before a tie for 18th at the Nationwide Championship in Daniel Island, S.C., sealed a top-25 finish in the money list.

A native of Carshalton, England, Christian began playing golf with his father at the age of 3 and at 20 decided to move to the United States in search of a collegiate career.

After a two-year stint at Wallace State in Cullman, Ala., Christian transferred to Auburn as a five-time medalist and the nation’s highest ranked junior-college player. As a 1995 Academic All-American, Christian competed in three team wins for the Tigers.

Christian will enter the 2012 PGA Tour having played 165 Nationwide Tour events with two wins and 14 top-10s. However, he has never competed in a PGA Tour event.

“For me, never having played in a Tour event before, it’s going to be a slightly different feeling teeing up next to Phil Mickelson, Like Donald and all those people after seeing them on TV over the years,“ Christian said.