Nov. 14, 2008
The No. 12 Auburn men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Maryville, Tenn., to run in the NCAA South Regional on Saturday. The women's 6K will get underway at 9 a.m., followed by the men's 10K at 10 a.m. on the Lambert Acres Golf Course.
"This meet is all about qualifying for the NCAA Championships and for us that means to finish in the top three," head coach Peter Watson said. "We did a great job during the season accumulating wins. Holly Knight will out there racing hard to try to get an individual berth to NCAAs and maybe give a go to pick up an individual win. Our women really want to go out and try and improve on their fifth-place finish from the SECs."
Saturday's race is one of nine regional races across the country where teams and individuals will seek a ticket to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind. The first- and second-place teams earn an automatic bid to Terre Haute and the top-three finishers, not on a qualifying team, will also head to Indiana. At-large selections for teams will be announced on Sunday.
Auburn's men enter the race as the second-ranked squad in the South Region. Alabama is ranked first in the region. The pair of instate rivals are the only two nationally-ranked teams in the field, with Alabama ranked fifth and Auburn 12th. Ranked fourth in the South Region, Florida is receiving votes in the national poll.
The Tiger women are ranked fifth in the South Region. Florida State is ranked first in the region and third nationally. Southeastern Conference foe Florida is ranked second in the region and 15th nationally. Tennessee is receiving votes nationally and is third in the region.