ATLANTA (August 24) — Georgia Tech’s men’s and women’s cross country teams begin their first week of practice, in anticipation of opening the 1999 campaign at the Tennessee-Chattanooga Invitational on Sept. 10 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
“We have an adjustment to make as we start classes and practice right away due to the change of semesters,” said head coach Alan Drosky, who is beginning his ninth year at Tech. “The upside is that we return 16 veterans on the men’s side and 12 veterans on the women’s side so we should adjust fairly quickly. Returning that kind of experience should give us an optimistic outlook to be competitive in every event we run this season.”
Headlining the women’s team will be senior Becky Megesi (Jonesboro, Ga.), who became Tech’s second-ever female to qualify for the NCAA Championships as she was 10th in the NCAA District IX meet a year ago. She captured victories at the Georgia Intercollegiate Championships and Troy State Invitational, and was second at both the Georgia State Invitational and Furman Invitational. The Jackets also return top five runners in senior Tina Frey (Peachtree City, Ga.), and juniors Sara Pardue (Aurora, Colo.) and Rachel Caruso (Duluth, Ga.). A talented freshman class begins at Tech including Aenslee Tanner (Portsmouth, N.H.), Katie Griffin (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Sarah Walsh (Lilburn, Ga.).
The men’s team welcomes back veterans in senior Brad Mills (Toledo, Ohio) and junior Joe Stegall (Rydal, Ga.). Mills finished 29th in the NCAA District IX meet to lead Tech, while Stegall won the Georgia Intercollegiate Championships and was 18th in the ACC Championship to pace the men’s squad. Junior Joey Zins (Atlanta, Ga.) returns as a member of the squad’s top five a year ago. The team could suffer a blow as junior Phillip Gable (Kennesaw, Ga.), suffered an injury during the summer and may not be available for the fall campaign. He was third in the Georgia Intercollegiate Championships and fourth at the Troy State Invitational. Freshman Brendon Mahoney (Cumming, Ga.) is the team’s top newcomer, as he was the Georgia AAA state champion the last two years.
Both teams will be looking to improve on seventh place ACC Championship finishes from a year ago.
