Sept. 28, 2006
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams will face steep competition in what will be the largest collegiate cross country meet ever contested in Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2006. The Greater Louisville Classic hosted by the University of Louisville and the Greater Louisville Sports Commission will feature 65 teams from 15 states and will consist of two men’s races and two women’s races.
The men’s team will run in the 8k gold race, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in downtown Louisville, site of the 2006 NCAA Southeast Regional, followed by the women’s 5k gold race at 10:15 p.m. on the same course.
“The Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic is a great opportunity for both the men’s and women’s teams,” said Tech coach Alan Drosky. “The meet features great competition on a quality cross country course. The course is over slight rolling terrain and should be similar to the ACC Championship course in Charlottesville. The competition will challenge our runners to produce some quality performances. Our training has been progressing well and both teams are anxious to race.”
The men’s team is currently ranked 10th in this weeks United States Cross Country Coaches Association (USCCCA) South Region poll. The Jackets finished sixth two weeks ago at the University of Tennessee Invitational led by senior David Herren, who placed sixth overall at the 8.4k race. Herren has finished in the top 10 at both the races Tech has participated in this year. Junior Nazar Trilisky finished second for the Jackets at the Tennessee Invitational in his first race of the fall.
“David Herren had an outstanding race in Knoxville two weeks ago and is looking to solidify the improvements he has made,” said Drosky. “Behind David, we’re looking for our two through seven runners to move up and close the gap with David.”
Tech will run against eight teams currently ranked regionally by the USCCCA in the gold 8k including Liberty University, ranked fifth in the Southeast Region, Tennessee, ranked fifth in the South Region, Georgia State, ranked eighth in the South Region and Vanderbilt, ranked ninth in the South Region. The Jackets will also get a chance to run against Atlantic Coast Conference rival Clemson.
Tech’s women are coming off a second-place finish at the Tennessee Invitational. The team is currently ranked sixth in the South Region and is led by Nisha Kurian and Elena Linn. The juniors have been very important to the teams success this season consistently finishing in the top three for the Jackets. Senior Mary Chind has run really well this fall including a 13th-place finish at the UT Invite.
“Nisha Kurian and Elena Linn have both finished first for us this season, but senior Mary Chind is very close to those two,” added Drosky. “Freshman Kiersten Peterson has been very solid for us and upperclassman Jenny Sims is rounding into form. We are looking forward to the addition of freshman Carola Conces, who returns to action after missing our last meet due to a minor injury.”
The women will run against 34 teams in the gold 5k including three ranked regionally by the USCCCA. Tech will be competing against the South Region’s seventh ranked team Chatanooga and the 10th-ranked team, Vanderbilt. Also running in the gold race is the University of Kentucky, who is ranked seventh in the Southeast Region.
Following this week’s race, the Jackets will take a week off before heading to the UTC Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Results from the Yellow Jackets races at the 2006 Greater Louisville Classic will be available at http://www.alltraxtiming.homestead.com/glxc.html following the completion of the meet on Saturday.
