Oct. 25, 2006
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech cross country teams are finished with the regular season and are ready for the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships in Charlottesville, Va. The women’s 6K race will begin at 10 a.m. on the Panorama Farms course followed by the men’s 8K, which will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 28.
“Both teams are excited about the opportunity to compete in the upcoming ACC Championships,” said Tech coach Alan Drosky. “This is the meet that they think about during those long, hot summer runs and through the hard, grueling workouts during the season. We’re looking forward to competing to the best of our ability against some of the best teams in the nation.”
The women have excelled this season, winning the last two meets and have finished in the top-three at all four races. The trio of senior Mary Chind and juniors Nisha Kurian and Elena Linn each has finished first for the Jackets, with Kurian accomplishing it twice. Freshman Kiersten Petersen has been a solid addition to the squad, finishing in the Jackets top five in three of the races.
Tech’s men are coming off a third-place finish at the Front Runner Invitational. The team has placed in the top-five twice and the top-10 three times. Leading the men has been senior David Herren, who has set a personal-record in the 5K with a time of 15:09. He has been the top-finisher for the Jackets at all four races. Junior Nazar Trilisky has finished second for Tech at three races.
“Our preparation has gone well and we’ve accomplished many of the training goals that were set,” said Drosky. “Injury and illness are always a factor, though this season they have been relatively minimal.”
The Tech women have a tough road ahead of them at the ACC Championship. Six of the twelve teams are ranked in the top-30 by the United State Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) including N.C. State, who is ranked second in the country. The Yellow Jackets are currently ranked fifth in the South Region.
The men will also face a very competitive field with three teams ranked in the top 30 by the USTFCCCA, including eighth-ranked FSU and ninth-ranked N.C. State.
“We want to make sure we run up to our potential in this meet,” added Drosky. “The men and women have progressed very well since the start of the season. We have to make sure the teams focus on their race strategy and execute their race plans.”
