Cardinals Head to Tennessee for Opening Meet

Friday, August 31

Knoxville, Tenn.

6:00 PM

University of Louisville

Tennessee Dual

Louisville's Dorcas Wasike runs in the 2017 ACC Cross Country Championships at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville.

August 29, 2018 | Cross Country

Both Louisville cross country teams ranked in regional polls

By: Jake Stanley

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following a busy and historic 2017 campaign, the University of Louisville men's and women's cross country teams open their 2018 season with a dual meet against the University of Tennessee Friday night in Knoxville, Tenn. The meet is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at the Cherokee Farm Cross Country Course. This is the second-consecutive season that both teams have started the season with a dual meet.

"It's always a great course set-up and they do a terrific job of manicuring the course. It's a consistent opening event for us and it's also an opportunity to make sure that we have strong footing," said head coach Dale Cowper. "Repeating the same trip we made last year is nice, because we have a direct comparison of where all the students were at last year and where we are right now,"

For the fifth-consecutive season, both Louisville squads are ranked in the preseason USTFCCCA Southeast regional rankings. The women's team opens the season at No. 6, after finishing the previous year at No. 5, while the men's side checks in at 14^th in the poll. The women's mark is the second-highest preseason position in program history, just behind their No. 2 ranking to begin last season.

As for their opponents, the Volunteers enter this weekend with both teams ranked in the South regional rankings as the men are slotted fifth and the women ninth. Both teams finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Regionals in November. In the Southeastern Conference preseason coaches' poll, the Tennessee men were picked to finish fourth, while the women were tied for ninth-place.

The high expectations for the women's program can be attributed to a successful 2017 season, in which the Cardinals finished a program-best second place at the ACC Championships and took fifth in the NCAA Southeast Regional. The Cards were powered by sophomore Dorcas Wasike, who became the school's first women's All-American when she placed 29^th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 20:05.3. Wasike narrowly missed the ACC title, finishing second with a personal-best mark of 19:54.1, while also coming in fourth at the regional championships. In addition to Wasike, five members of the team set personal records in the 6K at the ACC Championships.

Wasike is one of nine returning runners for the women's team, in addition to seniors Aurilla Wilson and Abigail Wright. The Cards also welcome a trio of freshman, Ivine Chemutai, Lindsey Fanz and Kansas MacKay, who finished 14^th in the Canadian National Cross Country Championships last year.

On the men's side, the Cardinals bring back eight runners from last year's squad, led by senior Daniel Fleace and sophomore Albert Kosgei. Fleace turned in Louisville's top times at the ACC Championships and NCAA Regionals, as well as posting a first-place finish at the John McNichols Invitational at Indiana State. Kosgei was terrific in the early portion of the season, earning a win at the Tennessee Dual and two other top-10 finishes. The Iten, Kenya native tallied the Cards' top 8K time of the season, 24:08.5, in a fifth-place finish at the Adidas Pre-National Invitational.

The Cardinals men add three new runners for the fall, including redshirt senior Chandler Austin, a transfer from Boise State. With the Broncos, Austin appeared in three NCAA championships and was named to the 2015 All-Mountain West Cross Country Second Team. Another newcomer for the Cards is Emmanuel Cheboson, a freshman from Eldoret, Kenya, who joined the track and field team during the 2018 outdoor season. Cheboson earned three wins for the Cards, including school-best marks in the 3,000m and 10,000m, when he took ninth at the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Results and a full recap of Friday's meet will be posted on GoCards.com following the conclusion of action. For more updates and information, follow Louisville cross country on Twitter at @UofLTrackXC and on Facebook.