Cross Country Releases 2010 Slate
7/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
July 28, 2010
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin cross country coach Lou Snelling announced Wednesday his team's schedule for the 2010 season. The slate consists of three regular-season meets -- including a home opener -- before the Southland Conference championships in Beaumont, Texas.
"The whole design of our schedule, in terms of our regular season, was getting ready for conference and regionals," Snelling said. "I feel like what we have there gives us a good shot to be successful at the end of the year."
SFA begins the campaign on Sept. 3 with the Lumberjack Opener at Pecan Acres Park. The Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks won't race again until Sept. 25, when they compete at the Memphis Twilight.
"The home meet is just a chance to go out and get a good workout in, maybe gauge some early season fitness," Snelling said. "I consider Memphis to be our true opener. That will really be our first race meet of the season. Typically, Memphis is a big meet. We'll have to deal with a lot of people, so the numbers will be more like what we'll see at the regional championships. It's good to see that and deal with all the things that go along with larger numbers.
"Also, Memphis is a relatively flat course. It's pretty much a soccer complex. That's something we're going to see with our conference meet, so it will be good to have that experience."
Between those two races, SFA will host its annual fund-raising high school meet, the Brooks Lumberjack Invitational. The Lumberjack Invite is set for Sept. 19 at Pecan Park. Last year's event drew more than 30 teams and 1,200 individuals to Nacogdoches.
Following the Memphis meet, SFA will get one final tune-up for conference when it competes in the Florida State Invitational. This will mark the second straight year for the 'Jacks to race at Florida State. SFA swept the men's and women's team titles at last season's meet.
"The nice thing with Florida State is that it will be hot and humid, so that will be pretty much like Beaumont," Snelling said. "We train in those conditions, but it's nice to get the chance to race in those conditions. Also we're going to go up against some really good teams. Florida State and Florida will be there and are supposed to run full squads. The meet will be smaller in terms of numbers, and that will be similar to conference in that we'll have a lot more one-on-one racing. It's good to get that experience."
SFA begins the crucial part of the 2010 campaign on Oct. 28 with the Southland Conference Championships in Beaumont, hosted by Lamar. Next up is the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Nov. 13 in Waco, Texas. Snelling hopes to wrap up the season with a trip to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 22.
"There's a lot of opportunity for both team and individual success at conference and regionals with the groups we're returning and the athletes we're adding," Snelling said.
The Lumberjacks return six lettermen from the team that finished fourth at the Southland Championships last season and took fifth at the regional meet. On the women's side, SFA brings back seven letterwinners from its second-place showing at the 2009 conference meet.
"Success at conference and regionals is about putting forth your best effort on the right day," Snelling said. "And it's not about one meet or the other, it's about having your best two meets of the season back-to-back and then seeing what happens. If we can do that, I think we've got a real opportunity to get an individual or two into the NCAA Championships this year."
-- SFA --
