Nov. 12, 2009
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s cross country team’s return to this course on Saturday when they take part in the 2009 NCAA South Region Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Action begins at 11 a.m. (ET) at the Harry Pritchett Running Park with the men’s 10k and concludes at 12:15 (ET) with the women’s 6k event.
The Yellow Jackets are no stranger to the course at the University of Alabama, as the squad raced on it back on Sept. 19, when both the men and women placed fourth at the Crimson Classic. In all, 30 schools will participate on the men’s side, while 33 teams will take part for the women.
“The NCAA South Region Championship is always a great meet,” said cross country head coach Alan Drosky. “We ran on the course back in September and are familiar with it.”
The Yellow Jacket men, who are currently ranked 10th in the USTFCCCA South Region Poll, look to build off an eighth-place finish at the ACC Championships on Oct. 31st. The finish was the best for the Yellow Jackets at the event since 2004.
Top individuals on the day included D.J. McMillan, who placed 46th, running the 8k course in 25:05.08 and Greg Johnson, who placed 49th in 25:09.06. At the Crimson Classic, McMillan was the Yellow Jackets’ top finisher in 24th, while Billy Mateker finished 30th in what was an 8k meet.
“The men will race over the 10k distance for the first time this season, but they’ve prepared and are ready for it,” said Drosky. “We are currently ranked 10th in the South Region and our goal is to better that ranking. If we run up to our potential I believe a finish in the top eight is reachable.”
The Tech women will be looking to improve on an 11th place finish at the ACC Championships. Sophomore Mary Kate DuBard led the Jackets on the day with a 48th place finish after running the 6k course in 21:58. At the Crimson Classic, Dubard registered a 12th place finish to lead Georgia Tech, while Kate Borowicz finished 16th in the 5k event.
“The women are currently unranked in the region after being ranked as high as 10th earlier in the season,” continued Drosky. “We’ve had some injury issues as of late, but we still believe we can reach the top ten.”
Fans are reminded that full results and a full recap of the action at the NCAA South Region Championships will be posted on RamblinWreck.com following competition on Saturday.
