Oct. 16, 2008
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams will compete in the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet hosted by Indiana State Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind.
The race will pit most of the nation’s top teams against each other and allow for runners to acclimate themselves to the course that will serve as the site for the NCAA Championships in November.
“The Pre-National meet is the most competitive meet of the regular season with quality teams coming from all regions of the country,” head coach Alan Drosky said. “The course is fair, a slightly rolling terrain with good footing, so it’s an opportunity to post a fast time.”
The Tech men, led by senior E.C. Gibbs, will run in the 8K starting at 12:50 p.m. Saturday. Gibbs paced the Yellow Jackets to a fifth-place finish at the Auburn Invitational on Oct. 4, running a personal-best 25:13 in the 8,000 meters.
“The men will look to continue the solid team running that we’ve seen in our last two meets,” Drosky added. “Our time spread between first and fifth has been a little over thirty seconds. If we can do that again, we’ll have a chance to place well.”
The Yellow Jacket women will take part in the 6K race, which is slated for an 11 a.m. start. Freshman Mary Kate DuBard has led the young group of runners in all races this season, and will look for a strong push from fellow classmates Annie Martin and Betsy Kim on the fast-paced course.
“The women will tackle the 6,000 meter distance for the second time this season and we are looking for a better result this time,” Drosky said. “Now they all have a little more experience and are coming off a much more solid performance in our last meet.”
A complete recap and full results will be available on RamblinWreck.com shortly following the conclusion of the event. -RamblinWreck.com-
