UofL Cross Country Prepares for Friday's UT Invitational
September 13, 2006 | Cross Country
Sept. 13, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's and women's cross country teams will return to action on Friday evening at the UT Invitational at Lambert Acres Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. The event will open at 5:30 p.m. ET with the women's 5,000-meter and will conclude with the men's 8,400-meter race at 6:15 p.m. ET.
The event, which will be a scored meet, will include athletes from the host Volunteers, Georgia Tech, Austin Peay, Belmont, VMI and Tennessee State.
The Cards' enter this week's event following a strong season-opening performance at the Indiana Community 5K race on Sept. 1 in Bloomington, Ind. UofL junior Soimo Kiplagat earned first-place honors in the field of 75 runners, while the Cardinal men swept the top five spots in the unscored meet. On the women's side, UofL freshman Tarah McKay was the top overall finisher in her first-ever collegiate race.
UofL will have full squads on both the men's side and women's side competing this weekend. For the Cardinal men, ranked sixth in this week's USCCCA Southeast Region Top 15, senior Wes Seacat, junior Wesley Korir and freshman Michael Eaton will compete for the first time this season, while freshman Kortni Dukes will compete for the Cardinal women for the first time this season.
Following this week's race at UT, the Cards will have a week away from competition before returning to race action at the Greater Louisville Classic, hosted by the Greater Louisville Sports Commission, on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 9:30 a.m. ET, at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. The event will also serve as a course preview for the NCAA Southeast Regional, scheduled for Nov. 11 at E.P. Sawyer Park.
UofL Head Coach Ron Mann - Pre-Race Quotes
"This race is an opportunity for us to compete against SEC competition and a great program like the University of Tennessee. With UT's women's squad ranked 14th in the nation this week, and the men's team ranked fourth in the South Region, this will be a great test for our team."
"This meet will be an opportunity to solidify our top seven runners on each side before the Greater Louisville Classic, which will be our first chance to accumulate points toward the national championships."
"It'll be great for us to have our full men's and women's squads competing this weekend. We're making good progress in practice and we're beginning to get healthy each day."
Players Mentioned
