Birmingham, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference announced its 2016 cross country awards on Tuesday, as voted on by the leagues head coaches.The mens recipients include Arkansas Alex George (Runner of the Year), Arkansas Carter Persyn (Freshman of the Year), Kentuckys Jacob Thomson (Scholar-Athlete of the Year) and Arkansas Chris Bucknam (Coach of the Year).The womens recipients include Missouris Karissa Schweizer (Runner of the Year), Arkansas Abby Gray (Freshman of the Year), Arkansas Devin Clark (Scholar-Athlete of the Year) and Arkansas Lance Harter (Coach of the Year).George was named the SEC Mens Runner of the Year after he took home the SEC mens cross country individual title. He clocked an 8K time of 23:24.9 at Agri Park in Fayetteville, Ark.Schweizer was chosen as the SEC Female Runner of the Year after winning three races this season including the SEC individual title. She finished the 6K race in 20:10.5, a personal record.Persyn, the Mens Freshman Runner of the Year, was the first freshman to complete the race by finishing in 37th place on the 8K course with a time of 25:24.4, earning him a spot on the Mens All-Freshman Team.Gray was named the Womens Freshman of the Year after finishing as the top female freshman at the SEC Championships with a time of 20:52.5 to place ninth overall at the SEC Championships. For her efforts, she also earned spots on the All-SEC Second Team and All-Freshman Team.Thomson is a junior at Kentucky with a 3.647 grade point average in accounting. He placed seventh overall at the 2016 SEC Cross Country Championships with an 8K time of 24:03.6. Thomson started the season with three-consecutive runner-up finishes at the Bluegrass Invitational, Texas A&M Invitational, and then led the Wildcats to a team win at the Alabama Crimson Classic.Clark is a sophomore with a 3.885 grade point average in kinesiology at Arkansas. She has been Arkansas top finisher in every meet she has competed in this season.Bucknam garnered his seventh consecutive SEC Mens Cross Country Coach of the Year award after leading the Razorbacks to their seventh consecutive SEC Championship and 24th in the last 26 seasons.Harter earned his 17th all-time SEC Womens Cross Country Coach of the Year honor and his fourth consecutive such accolade after leading the Razorbacks to their fourth consecutive league crown and their league-leading 17th all-time.2016 SEC Cross Country AwardsMens Runner of the Year: Alex George, Arkansas Mens Freshman Runner of the Year: Carter Persyn, Arkansas Mens Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Jacob Thomson, Kentucky Mens Coach of the Year: Chris Bucknam, ArkansasWomens Runner of the Year: Karissa Schweizer, Missouri Womens Freshman Runner of the Year: Abby Gray, Arkansas Womens Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Devin Clark, Arkansas Womens Coach of the Year: Lance Harter, ArkansasCheap USA Soccer Jerseys .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. USA Soccer Store . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ .Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. USA Soccer Shirts . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. Fake USA Soccer Jerseys ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter.Olympics bronze-medallist Vijender Singh is set to take on Kerry Hope for WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight title in New Delhi on Saturday. ESPNs Sidharth Monga caught up with him ahead of the biggest bout of his pro-boxing career so far.Heres the full interview.Why did you choose boxing?Boxing chose me.My grandfather was a boxer. He was a subedar, retired a major. He brought a pair of boxing gloves with him when he retired. I would wear one, and I would pick up anybody and we would fight for the right glove because whoever had the right won. Gradually we realised Hawa Singh (Vijenders grandfathers colleague and an 11-time national heavyweight champion) had started an academy in Bhiwani, which is close to my village. I started under Jagdish Singh.When people in school would find out so and so guy boxes, you just get a different respect. Used to fight a lot in school so the boxers always won. We would also be popular with the girls. I studied in Happy Public School in Bhiwani. Being a boxer you just stood out in the crowd.Slowly it became a passion. We used to bunk school for training. We had to train three times a day: morning, afternoon, evening.When did you feel this could be a career?Not until I became a national (junior) champion in 2002. Then I was offered a constables job, not even a Railways TT (north Indian for TTE, a travelling ticket examiner). I was told if I won a gold in seniors I could get that job. Then I became the national champion in seniors too. Then a lot of offers came my way. Railways TT. At that time Olympics were around the corner, and I heard that I could get an even better job if I went there. After the 2004 Olympics, I was offered a senior TTs job. The pay was good, too. Then I realised there was a career in boxing.I worked as TT for a year and a half. I was the Head TT in Jaipur. I didnt travel on trains, but used to check tickets of passengers who alighted at the Jaipur station.Your coaches say you were an intelligent boxer. Its one thing to have the heart for boxing, but how did you learn the art?I used to read a little bit. Coaches usually ask you to just concentrate on training, and I know boxers dont have that intelligent image. But I believed in reading, whether its a book or newspaper. You always learn from reading. I always had the will to keep learning something new. If only hard work got you medals, donkeys would have been Olympics champions. Bouts are won with your mind. Read. Work hard. Combine them. From the time I entered the senior league, I consciously worked on the mental aspect.One of your earlier coaches, CA Kutappa, says you could figure out your opponents quicker than others, which is crucial in amateur because it is three rounds only. That you dont learn in books.That comes automatically. When you train and focus. When I started, coach Jagdish used to send two-three boxers into the ring. Theey used to beat me up a lot.dddddddddddd I know what a good beating is, and I know how to survive in the ring. I have taken a lot of beating. From behind the coach is hitting you, boxers are hitting you from the front. I have been beaten up a lot. That teaches you.How difficult is it to be a non-cricket sportsman in India?All these things you realise when you hit hard times. That time you realise that as sportsmen even we should have that respect. But cricket has taken itself to a level because it has good administration. If a federation manages boxing the way the BCCI does cricket, of course it will become big. It is one of the biggest sports in the world. You have to organise, you have to meet people, you have to get sponsors, you have to sell ideas to them.Why did it take you so long to turn pro? Amateur boxing anyway is not managed that well in India.Sometimes I think the same thing myself. Better late than never. I should have turned pro soon after 2012 Olympics.Ali, Tyson etc. turned pro just after one Olympics. Didnt you want to go down the same route?I did get two-three offers to turn pro after the 2008 Olympics, but I wanted to play for my country. I went to the world championship in 2009, then the 2010 Commonwealth Games were at home, then 2012 was in sight. So I thought lets do that. I had offers but I thought let me do something for the country first, then I will think about myself.You spoke about 2009 world championships. Thats when you parted ways controversially with Neerav Tomar of IOS, the management company that backed you for the last five years. Why?Kyun kit oh saari ladai hoti hai Haryanvi mein. [In Haryana all fights start with the why]. Where there is a why, there is a fight. What happens in Haryana is a guy asks the other, Arre bhai kahan jaan lag rheya hai? [Hey, where are you going?] The other says, Kyun bataoon tanne? [Why should I tell you?]. And then the first guy says, Wait Ill show you. So dont ask me why.Now you have turned pro with the same management company. How did you guys get back together?Things get sorted out.How difficult was it to come back from the drugs controversy?I used to just sleep. For that one month I slept to my hearts content. For one month I switched off my phone, used to wake up at 10 AM, eat and sleep. Then in the evening if I felt like going to gym, I went; if not, I slept again. My conscience was clear. It wasnt that difficult to come back.What were the changes and challenges of turning pro?Everything. The biggest was to leave my country and go and live and train in Manchester. To be in a new country. Language. Food. No friends. No cushion. Here, you sparred with your friends. There, I didnt know anybody. Technically also I had to change my game completely. ' ' '