Sept. 27, 2007
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The men’s and women’s cross country teams hit the road for the first time in the 2007 season this weekend. The men’s team will travel to Louisville, Ky., to participate in the Greater Louisville Classic. The women’s team will split squads and run at meets in both Louisville, at the Greater Louisville Classic, and Williamsburg, Va., at the Colonial Inter-Regional Challenge.
The men’s 8k race in Louisville will be held at Tom Sawyer State Park. Thirty-four teams will participate in the 2007 Greater Louisville Classic, hosted by the University of Louisville (ranked 15th in the NCAA), which is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. CT. The Vanderbilt men’s team is coming off of a fourth place finish two weeks ago at the Commodore Classic. However, the team will be without its most proven runner, Austin Williamson, for the 8k race this weekend. Williamson will be taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).
“It’s going to put a little more pressure on the second group of runners,” said head coach Steve Keith. “We will need a good race out of Thomas Davis. He should be able to run very well this year just like last year. It’s essential for our success as a team to have our third through seventh guys all running together.”
The women’s 5k race in Louisville will also be held at Tom Sawyer State Park. Start time for the race featuring 29 teams is set for 9:15 a.m. CT. Kentucky and Georgia Tech are familiar foes that will participate in the race.
The women’s race at the Colonial Inter-Regional Challenge is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CT at Dunbar Farm at Eastern State Hospital. William & Mary is the host institution for the event. Virginia (#10), Georgetown (#20), and Virginia Tech (#25) are all nationally ranked teams that will participate along with seven others in the 6k event.
“It will be our first 6k,” remarked Keith. “That’s probably the one unknown, but Rita (Jorgensen) and Carmen (Mims) should lead the front group. Julie (Eckerly) has been having great workouts. Otherwise, we do know we’re getting in better shape every week. They’re healthy and feeling good about themselves. Everything is very positive. I’m very curious and excited to see how we perform this weekend.”
