Oct. 10, 2007
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams continue their seasons this Saturday, October 13 at the La Vern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course located just east of Terre Haute, Ind.
“This is the first time in several years that our teams will compete at the Pre-National Cross Country meet,” head coach Alan Drosky said. “This meet brings together an outstanding field of nationally and regionally ranked teams. The field is so large that it is split into two separate races of about 35-40 teams each.”
The men’s team will compete in the white 8K race, scheduled to begin at 11:40 a.m. The women will follow the men’s team at 12:20 a.m. with the blue 6K race.
Tech’s women are coming off a third-place finish at the Greater Louisville Classic. Senior Jenny Sims led the way, crossing the line in a time of 17:51.17 and was followed by senior Elena Linn, who clocked in at 17:51.58.
The Jackets, ranked 5th in South Region in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, will run against five teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC will be represented by Boston College, Florida State, North Carolina, NC State and Virginia, all ranked in USTFCCCA regional polls.
“The women have a great opportunity to see several other ACC teams in their race,” Drosky added. “They are just beginning to round into late-season form and this meet will be a step towards the championship portion of our schedule. We still need to be a little stronger up front and we are looking for solid and consistent performances behind our front three individuals.”
The men’s team, ranked 12th in the USTFCCCA South Region poll, finished 11th at the Greater Louisville Classic two weeks ago. Senior David Herren once again was the first Yellow Jacket to finish, crossing the line 22nd in a time of 24:37.16.
“The men are coming off a very solid team effort at our last competition and look to continue their improvement,” Drosky said. “Each meet they have made great progress and this will be a very tough test. We run without Iain Turnbull who is one of our top runners, but we have some good depth to work with. Iain is recovering from a knee injury and is focusing on preparations for the conference meet later in October.”
Following this weekend’s meet, the Jackets will take a week off to prepare for the ACC Championships, slated for Saturday, October 27 in Charlottesville, Va.
– RamblinWreck.com –
