Oct. 29, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt cross country teams will make the four hour trek to Oxford, Miss., this weekend for the 2009 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships. The annual event will start with the men’s 8K-race beginning at 10 a.m. CT, while the women’s 6K-race will follow at 11 a.m. Both races will be held at the Ole Miss Golf Course.
“Both teams are excited and getting focused on the task at hand,” Head Coach Steve Keith said. “The Ole Miss’ course should be a fast track but it will probably be wet and sloppy with the recent rains. I can see some very competitive races for the women and men.”
“Cross country is not about time but rather where you place in relation to other teams,” Keith said. “Every point will be critical for both the men and women Saturday.”
The VU women look to improve on back-to-back eighth place finishes at the SEC meet this weekend as they bring a young and talented group to Oxford. The Commodores look to close out the regular season on a high note this weekend after opening the regular season with team titles at the Belmont-Vanderbilt Opener and Commodore Classic. It marked the second straight season that the ‘Dores have defended its home turf of Percy Warner Park by winning the first two meets of the season.
In the women’s race, VU will turn to its team leaders and seasoned veterans in junior Rita Jorgensen and sophomore Kristabel Doebel-Hickok to lead the way. Jorgensen was the top Commodore at last year’s SEC meet, placing 19th with a time of 21:31.54 while Doebel-Hickok finished three spots back (22nd) with a 21:38.89. Adrienne DiRaddo was the third VU runner to cross the finish line in 2008, clocking a 22:11.85 for 41st place.
Doebel-Hickok has consistently ran with the front of the pack in all four of the meets this season as she owns three top-20 finishes while Jorgensen has returned to form after sitting out of the Commodore Classic and Greater Louisville Invitational.
In addition to the upperclassman, the Commodores have received a lot of production from the sophomore and freshman class as Louise Hannallah, Jordan White, Alexa Rogers and Allie Scalf have been among VU’s top five runners all season long. Senior Ellen Black, sophomore Erin McManus and freshman Kristen Findley have ran well in route to setting personal season-high times.
“The team standings in the women’s women’s race could shape up as a great five-way battle for places four through eight,” Keith said. “We know we match up well with these teams and have a more experienced group than previous years so we are focusing on group running and fighting for every point we can run down.”In the men’s race, the Commodores are looking to improve on last year’s 11th place finish at the SEC Championships as they will run their fourth 8K race of the fall season on Saturday morning.
VU will turn to team leader Jenner Kizer to pace the ‘Dores this weekend while the rest of the team looks to tighten up and work on running as a group.
“Based off some of the earlier results I will look to Jenner to lead the team while our two through five runners working hard to stay ahead of the LSU and Ole Miss packs,” Keith said. “The men need to be focused on keeping a close group and running as a cohesive group.”
It marks the first time since 1996 that Ole Miss has hosted the SEC Championships.
SEC Meet Schedule
10 a.m. – Men’s 8K race
11 a.m. – Women’s 6K race
