Sept. 13, 2006
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams are anxious to get back into action Friday, Sept. 15, 2006, at the Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville, Tenn. The women’s 5k race will begin at 5:30 p.m. on the Lambert Acres golf course, site of the 2006 NCAA South Regional, followed by the men’s 8.4k at 6:15 p.m. on the same course.
The race, with a field of only six to eight schools, will feature some of the best teams in the south. Tech’s women are currently ranked 6th in the NCAA south region and will run against Tennessee, No. 14 nationally and No. 1 in the south and Belmont University, No. 9 in the south. The men will run against host Tennessee, Louisville, Belmont, among others.
“The competition will be very strong,” said coach Alan Drosky. “This course is a challenging course that we will see again later in the season at the NCAA South Regional. Having the opportunity to race on it early will give us a lot of insight as we prepare through the season.”
Senior David Herren earned Atlantic Coast Conference Performer of the Week honors for his 11th place finish at the Belmont Opener. He will look to improve on his performance on the longer course. Running their first races of the season for the Jackets are senior Paul Specht, junior Nazar Trilisky, and sophomore Greg Johnson. All three are expected to bolster the Jacket’s line-up in the top five to seven spots.
On the women’s side, Nisha Kurian (3rd) and Elena Linn (10th) each placed in the top-10 overall for the Jackets at the Belmont Opener. Along with senior Mary Chind and junior Maria Hampton, this group gives Tech some valuable experience up front.
Several Tech freshmen, Garad Soderman and Kevin Arends for the men, Kiersten Petersen and Carola Conces for the women, finished among the Jacket’s top seven scorers in their first race wearing Tech’s old gold and white. This week they step up to longer race distances for the first time.
“We had some freshmen who competed very well in their first meet,” said Drosky. “I am anxious to see how they respond in their next race.”
NOTES – This is the third consecutive season Elena Linn has finished in the top-10 overall at a season opening meet…. David Herren is the first male Georgia Tech cross country runner to be named ACC Performer of the week since Kyle Rabbit was honored on Oct. 13, 2003…. Nisha Kurian and Nazar Trilisky earned all-ACC Academic team honors in 2005.
