Auburn Cross Country Teams Set To Compete At South Regional
November 11, 2004
Chris Walsh |
AUBURN ââ'¬" Auburn's cross country teams will travel a short distance to Tuscaloosa for the NCAA South Regional on Saturday, Nov. 13, where junior Angela Homan will attempt to continue her winning streak to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
The women's 6K is slated to begin at 10 a.m. with 229 runners scheduled to compete and the men's 10K with 205 runners entered will begin at 11 a.m. The Harry Pritchett Golf Course will be the site of both races.
"The course is a former golf course owned by the university that has now been turned into a cross country course," head cross country coach Chris Fox said. "It is a good spectator course because you can stand at the clubhouse and see most of the course. Our kids are going to do well on the course because we have trained on hilly courses throughout the season."
The top two teams will receive the automatic spots at the championships in two weeks and the top-four individuals not on those two teams will also earn an automatic berth. Thirteen additional at-large teams will be selected by the Division I track and field subcommittee on November 14. Auburn's men will be eligible to receive one of the at-large bids if they do not finish in the top-two on Saturday.
Homan enters the competition as the favorite on the women's side, after defending her SEC title two weeks ago in Fayetteville, Ark. Homan has not lost a race during the 2004 season and looks to extend her winning streak to six on Saturday. At the 2003 South Regional, hosted by Auburn, Homan placed third and earned an automatic spot at the championships. Then-senior Catherine Wanyoike came in sixth and also advanced to the championships. As a team the women were fourth last season, behind Tennessee, Florida State and Georgia.
"Tennessee will be the team to beat again on the women's side," Fox noted. "Our girls have a good shot to finish fourth or fifth. We would have to have one of our newcomers step up to be able to move up in our finish. Angela is the favorite on the women's side and Kylee Swanson will also be trying to qualify as an individual."
After an impressive showing at the SEC Championships two weeks ago, the Auburn men's cross country team will enter the regional with a goal of making the top two. With junior Andrew Heath and freshman Chris Walsh leading the way, the men are positioned to improve their seventh place finish last season.
"Our men have not been in the position to have a shot at making the championships as a team in a long time," Fox said. "If we do not finish in the top two and are able to beat either Florida or Georgia I think we stand a good chance of getting one of the at-large spots. Chris and Andrew will be our top two runners on the men's side."
The last time an Auburn men's cross country team made it to the championships was 1985, where they came in 16th. The only other time the Tigers competed as a team at the championships was 1980 where they came in fifth. The women's last trip as a team was in 1995.
For complete results from the NCAA South Regional please visit http://www.rolltide.com and/or http://www.trackshark.com