Sept. 3, 2015
Event: Belmont Opener
Day, Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Host: Belmont
Site: Percy Warner Park
Start Times: 9 a.m. Men’s 5k l 9:40 Women’s 5k
Results: HERE
The Vanderbilt cross country teams have generated plenty of preseason buzz. This weekend, the Commodores get their first chance to turn the expectations into results. Making the short trek to Percy Warner Park, the VU men and women are competing in the Belmont Opener on Saturday. The Vanderbilt women, who won the program’s first-ever South Region title last fall and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive year, have earned plenty of national attention in the past few weeks. They are ranked No. 22 in the nation — and a No. 1 in the South Region — in the USTFCCA preseason polls, and were tabbed by the conference’s coaches to finish second in the SEC. Here’s a closer look at this weekend’s meet.
l The skinny on the Commodores. The Vanderbilt women enter the season with a deep and experienced roster that includes seniors Sara Barron, Katherine Delaney and Vanessa Valentine, along with juniors Carmen Carlos, Reagan Anderson and Lily Williams. The roster also features plenty of young talent, with sophomores Maddie Criscione and Courtney Kriegshauser and four freshmen — Caroline Pietrzyk, Devon Grisbaum, Rebecca Jacobson and Sara Tsai — all expected to contribute. On the men’s side, the Commodores have several key returnees, including senior Nick French and junior Jake Van Geffen, along with newcomers Jason Vincze and Garrett Camps.
l Looking at the field. As is traditionally the case with the Belmont Opener, this weekend’s meet with include many of the Commodores’ in-state rivals. The women’s race features a total of six schools from Tennessee — Chattanooga, Lipscomb, MTSU, Tennessee State, Belmont and Vanderbilt — along with three out-of-state guests: Campbellsville, Lindsey Wilson and Spalding. The men’s field features that same list of teams, and has one addition — Western Kentucky.
l Scheduled to run for the Vanderbilt women. Reagan Anderson, Sara Barron, Devon Grisbaum, Megan Huebner, Ginger Hutton, Rebecca Jacobson, Caroline Pietrzyk, Sara Tsai, Vanessa Valentine and Lily Williams.
l Scheduled to run for the Vanderbilt men. Dan Arthur, Caleb Casolaro, Sam DeFabrizio, Waqqas Fazili, Nick French, Nikos Gkotsis, Sam Reilly, Evan Suzman, Jake Van Geffen, Jason Vincze
l Looking back to last year. The Vanderbilt women dominated this meet last fall, winning the 12-team, 5k race with 20 points. Kentucky finished a distant second with 79 points and MTSU (105 points) was third. Katherine Delaney was the Commodores’ top finisher in the women’s race, earning second place with a time of 17:40.42. She was followed directly by teammates Lily Williams (17:51.13), Carmen Carlos (17:54.47), Reagan Anderson (18:00.70), Sara Barron (18:02.39), Vanessa Valentine (18:02.58) and Rebecca Chandler (18:02.75). On the men’s side, the Commodores took fifth. Vanderbilt’s top finisher was Nick French, who took 29th at 15:58.11, and Jake Van Geffen was 38th at 16:08.81.
lQUOTING THE COACHES:
Head coach Steve Keith:
On the team’s newcomers getting their first taste of college competition.
“This is a chance for them to get their feet wet and see where they are. For the freshmen ladies, they will be used to the 5k, since that is what they run in high school; and for the guys, they’ll get one last run on a 5k course before they move up to five miles. … But I’ve been real happy with the freshmen guys. This is the best group we’ve had since I’ve been here. It will be fun to see them create a new identity for the men’s team.”
On the team’s approach to the meet.
“A lot of our emphasis is on running together as a team. That’s what we do in practice, and this is their first opportunity to put that plan into action. The upperclassmen have taken on a leadership role in that regard, because our freshmen aren’t used to running with a group of teammates; they (the freshmen) were all the top runners on their team.”
Associate head coach Rhonda Riley:
On the importance of this early-season meet.
“Well, really, it’s a test, especially for the younger members of the team. It’s a great chance for them to get a feel for competing again and for us, as coaches, to see the dynamics of the team at least in terms of the ones who are running. … This meet is a good chance for some of our younger ones to get their nerves out of the way. Plus, as athletes, I think the younger ones sometimes underestimate themselves, and this meet helps them prove to themselves that their fitness over the summer has been good and that the training has been working. It’s a good starting point.”
On the forecast for a very hot day.
“I don’t think that will be a factor. The team can adapt to that and I am confident that they’ll be able to handle the conditions with no problem.”
