
Cross Country Teams Prep for Conference Championships
10/28/2011 3:36:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The University of North Florida cross country teams will travel to Nashville, Tenn. Saturday morning to compete in the 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Championships at Percy Warner Park.
In the women's race, the Ospreys will be looking to defend their 2010 title and become the first back-to-back champion since Belmont took first from 2006-08. UNF, ranked first in the A-Sun Preseason Poll and still considered the team to beat by the conference's coaches, currently sits in eighth place in the USTFCCCA Region Coaches Poll; the highest of any conference squad.
“We're definitely going to have our work cut out for us,” Head Coach Mark VanAlstyne said. “Teams like Belmont and Lipscomb have made huge progress this year and are pretty formidable at this point.”
Junior Shelby Kittrell, who grabbed runner-up honors at last year's conference championships, and senior Erin Nixon, who has led the Ospreys in every meet this year, will be among the favorites for the individual title.
The men's team will be vying for its first-ever conference title, following last year's fourth-place finish and a third-place finish in 2009. The Ospreys enter the championship ranked fourth in the A-Sun Coaches Poll, with a good chance at finishing above their seeding.
“I think this is one of the more wide-open men's races I've seen in the conference,” VanAlstyne said. “I'm not sure there's that dominant team that everyone is going to be chasing.”
Senior Mike Strasser and junior James Post have each led UNF in at least one race this season, though the strength of the team has often come from its depth and ability to run close to one another.
“I think, if you look at it, we have one of the better 'packs' in the conference,” VanAlstyne said. “If we're to do well tomorrow, I think we're going to have to excel as a tight-knit group.”
The meet, hosted by Belmont, is being run in Nashville for the first time since 2004, when the Bruins swept the men's and women's races. The men's eight kilometer race will start at 10:00 a.m. and the women's five kilometer will begin at approximately 10:45 a.m.
In the women's race, the Ospreys will be looking to defend their 2010 title and become the first back-to-back champion since Belmont took first from 2006-08. UNF, ranked first in the A-Sun Preseason Poll and still considered the team to beat by the conference's coaches, currently sits in eighth place in the USTFCCCA Region Coaches Poll; the highest of any conference squad.
“We're definitely going to have our work cut out for us,” Head Coach Mark VanAlstyne said. “Teams like Belmont and Lipscomb have made huge progress this year and are pretty formidable at this point.”
Junior Shelby Kittrell, who grabbed runner-up honors at last year's conference championships, and senior Erin Nixon, who has led the Ospreys in every meet this year, will be among the favorites for the individual title.
The men's team will be vying for its first-ever conference title, following last year's fourth-place finish and a third-place finish in 2009. The Ospreys enter the championship ranked fourth in the A-Sun Coaches Poll, with a good chance at finishing above their seeding.
“I think this is one of the more wide-open men's races I've seen in the conference,” VanAlstyne said. “I'm not sure there's that dominant team that everyone is going to be chasing.”
Senior Mike Strasser and junior James Post have each led UNF in at least one race this season, though the strength of the team has often come from its depth and ability to run close to one another.
“I think, if you look at it, we have one of the better 'packs' in the conference,” VanAlstyne said. “If we're to do well tomorrow, I think we're going to have to excel as a tight-knit group.”
The meet, hosted by Belmont, is being run in Nashville for the first time since 2004, when the Bruins swept the men's and women's races. The men's eight kilometer race will start at 10:00 a.m. and the women's five kilometer will begin at approximately 10:45 a.m.
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