Cardinals Open 2019 Season at the Commodore Classic

Louisville, Ky. -- The University of Louisville men's and women's cross country teams will open up their 2019 season at the Commodore Classic in Nashville, Tenn. The meet will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET for the women's team and 10:15 a.m. ET for the women's teams at Percy Warner Park.

The Field
The men's field includes Auburn, Belmont, Georgia, High Point, Indiana, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Louisville, Missouri, Middle Tennessee, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Tennessee Tech, Western Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Xavier.

The women's field includes Auburn, Belmont, Georgia, High Point, Indiana, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Middle Tennessee, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Santa Clara, Southern Miss, Tennessee Tech, UAB, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky and Xavier.

In the Rankings
Four programs are ranked in the national coaches' preseason poll, including Ole Miss, whose men are No. 14 and women are No. 15. The Indiana men are 15th while the women are receiving votes. Ohio State's women are 26th. Middle Tennessee's men's unit is receiving votes as are the Georgia women.

About the Cardinals
The women's team will be returning seven runners from last season. Louisville is coming into the season with high expectations following a strong 2018 season. The Cardinals will be led this season by sophomore Ivine Chemutai and junior Kassidy Manning. Chemutai posted the second best finish for the Cardinals in five of the six events. She posted a season-best 6K time of 21:16.5 at NCAA Southeast Regionals. Manning, an academic All-American, was an All-ACC selection in 2017 with a 15^th place finish at the ACC Championships with a time of 20:31.2. She also finished 26^th at the NCAA Southeast Regional with a time of 21:08.3.

On the men's team, they are looking to replicate a strong 2018 season with six runners returning. Including junior Albert Kosgei and sophomore Emmanuel Cheboson. Kosgei posted a career-best 8K mark of 24:02.5 at Louisville Cross Country Classic, finishing 10^th in the race. Cheboson earned All-ACC honors as Louisville top finisher at ACC Championships with 8K time of 24:05.9. He finished ninth at the NCAA Southeast Regionals with 10K mark of 30:14.5, posting second-best time for freshman and earning All-Region honors. The Cardinals will also have five talented freshmen competing for a spot in the lineup.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emmanuel Cheboson

Ivine Chemutai

Albert Kosgei

Kassidy Manning

University of Louisville Athletics