Sept. 29, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams will head to Louisville, Ky., for the tenth running of the Greater Louisville Classic at the Tom Sawyer State Park, Saturday, Oct. 1. The six-race meet will kick-off with the Gold Division men's 8K women's 5K race at 8:30 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. CST, respectively. The Blue Division races will follow promptly, followed by the Silver Division.
The men's 8K will consist of three hills with over-all slight rolling terrain, while the women's 5K will have two hills and an over-all slight rolling terrain. Overall, the course is very narrow and windy, making it very hard to advance the field shortly after the start.
"We are hoping to finish in the top-five or higher on the women's side," said head cross country coach Jeff Bovee. "After taking the last week off from racing, we are eager to get back out there and race. There are two or three women that can compete with the top individuals from the number of quality teams that are participating."
Running for the women's team in the Gold Division race will be freshman Ashley Kamin, sophomores Kristen Zillmer, Shannon Nemetz, Ruth Allen and Rachael Brewer, juniors Elise Sigg and Brea Tinney and senior Aisha Praught.
"On the men's side, I would like to shorten the gap between our number one and number five runners," said Bovee. "I would like to see them establish a strong front and get out to an early rhythm. I am optimistic when it comes to this race, and would like to keep building on the previous weeks while having the young guys gain some more valuable experience."
Competing for the men in the Gold Division race will be freshmen Wade Reeves, Ryan Rutherford, Andrew Sandoval, Jake Trancoso, and Sean Senf, junior Mat Smoody and senior John Navarro.
"There are a lot of talented runners from a lot of quality programs competing in this race," said Bovee. "It was nice to finish toward the front of the pack in our home meet two weeks ago, but this will be a true test of where we are at, going up against some of these bigger schools."
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