Aug. 29, 2012
NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt Head Cross Country Coach Steve Keith finds himself in a familiar place.
Tasked with developing a program, Keith has the goal of building a team to contenders in the Southeastern Conference.
Fans who follow Vanderbilt athletics may know that sounds familiar, as he began the same process a few years ago with the women’s cross country team. That process saw results last season as the women won the SEC Championship and placed sixth at the NCAA Championships.
One look at the roster shows Keith is much earlier in the process on the men’s side. Vanderbilt will feature just four combined juniors and seniors in 2012, while there are five sophomores and two freshmen.
Among the top returners, look for sophomore John Ewing to lead the way. Ewing led the Commodores at lest year’s SEC Championships, finishing 53rd with a mark of 25:54.
Ewing, along with senior Alan Ash, represented Vanderbilt on the SEC Men’s Cross Country Watch List, which was released earlier today.
Andrew Bachman will also be looked at to continue developing. The sophomore ran his first-ever 10K race at the NCAA South Regional before running solid times during the outdoor track season.
“We’ve got sophomores that are absolutely the core of the team,” Keith said. “Two of them ran better track times in the spring, so I could see them taking a jump. They are are the core.”
The Commodores also add freshmen Andrew Fix and Nick French.
“Andrew Fix is coming in and he’s exactly what I was, where the transition to the 5K will be a little slower,” Keith said. “Nick French is more of a two-miler and he’ll have a little bit easier time to jump up and contribute.”
As for the program building, Keith expects the process to take a little bit longer than the women, if for no other reason than the leap from high school to college is much bigger on the men’s side.
“It’s more of a long term development on their side,” Keith explained. “They’ll still need another year. I love their energy and their excitement and they’re super sharp kids. For guys, you really don’t expect to see freshmen leading your team because it’s such a transition.”
The Commodores look to continue on that process when the season opens with the Belmont Opener on Friday, August 31 at Nashville’s Percy Warner Park.
Vanderbilt will also host its annual Commodore Classic at Percy Warner on Saturday, September 15. The Classic should have one of the best fields in history, as several SEC teams are expected to use the race as a preview of the conference championships.
The 2012 SEC Championships will be held at Percy Warner on Friday, October 26.