Cross Country Readies For Pre-National Invitational
10/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Seven members from each BU squad will compete at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course that will also host next month's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
The Baylor women's Pre-Nationals team of Alex Davis, Ann-Marie Dunlap, Rachel Johnson, Mariah Kelly, Maggie Montoya, Bree Schrader and Madie Zimmerman will compete on a six- kilometer course. That race featuring a total of 40 teams will begin at 11 a.m.
"We are excited to be heading up to Terre Haute and this hopefully is where we will be going back to for the NCAA meet," head coach Todd Harbour said. "I know our ladies are ready to go. We haven't raced with them in three weeks, so it will be good to see where they are at."
The Baylor women are currently ranked No. 22 in the USTFCCCA's national top 30 poll and No. 2 in the South Central regional rankings. The last time BU's top runners competed was on Sept. 27 when the women were fifth at the Roy Griak Invitational. The Lady Bears are led by junior Rachel Johnson, who has placed second at the Griak meet.
Other ranked teams competing at the meet include No. 1 Michigan, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Georgetown, No. 7 Colorado and No. 29 North Carolina State.
The BU men's squad includes Eric Anderson, Matt Galvin, Derwin Graham, Chris McElroy, Kyle Scanlan, Jonathan Tijerina and Jordan West. That group will race on an eight-kilometer course against a field of 43 teams at 11:35 a.m.
"I think our guys our ready to run," assistant coach Jon Capron said. "We are definitely going to have our hands full. It is basically like a small version of nationals. I expect our guys to hold their own and we will see what we are made of."
The Baylor men are 10th in the USTFCCCA's South Central regional rankings and finished in 10th at the Chile Pepper Festival in its last meet out on Oct. 4. The Bears are led by freshman Eric Anderson, who has been BU's top runner in all four races this fall.
The Bears will face six other teams from the South Central region, including No. 2 Texas, No. 5 North Texas, No.7 UT Arlington, No. 8 Rice, No. 12 Houston and No. 13 Central Arkansas.
Last season, the women finished 31st at the event, while the men were 49th.
Following this weekend's meet, Baylor will be off next week before traveling to the Big 12 Championships on Nov. 1 in Lawrence, Kan.
For updates on Baylor's cross country team, follow @BaylorTrack on Twitter.
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