SFA Set For True Season Opener
9/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 24, 2010
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Five weeks after beginning fall workouts and three weeks after their official season opener, the Stephen F. Austin cross country teams are finally ready to start the 2010 season in earnest. SFA will compete Saturday night in the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic.
The race, hosted by Christian Brothers University in Memphis, is billed as the largest night-time cross country meet in the nation. The women's race is scheduled to start at 8:20 p.m. with the men following at 9 p.m.
SFA's only competition this season has been the Lumberjack Opener, held in Nacogdoches on Sept. 3. The meet was held in a relay format, and there were no team scores assigned.
"This will be our first opportunity to go out and race," SFA head coach Lou Snelling said. "It will allow me to evaluate where we're at. That's the big thing that I'm going to get out of this is the chance to evaluate, because I think I have a pretty good idea of where we're at, but being able to see it in a race will be good."
With no real competitive races to prepare for, the Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks have had the chance to really focus on their training.
"I've been pretty happy with that five-week block of training," Snelling said. "We've been very consistent and taken care of a lot of the goals that we've set for ourselves. Fitness-wise, we're in a decent spot right now because of that."
In addition to checking out his team's progress, Snelling said Saturday's meet will be a good opportunity to get his athletes some experience on a crowded course.
"It's a great opening meet for us in that there's some good competition," Snelling said. "We're going to have to deal with a lot of traffic with 30 to 35 teams on the starting line. If we get a decent night, it's a course where you can put up a solid time."
The course is laid out on the Mike Rose Soccer Complex and will be a flat track with multiple loops. The women will run a 6k course, while the men will run 8,000 meters. The layout allows competitors to see the entire course at every point during the race, minimizing the role strategy will play in the competition.
"The big thing is we want to build momentum with this meet," Snelling said. "With this being the first meet of the season for us, we're not expecting the end-all, be-all. We just want to have a solid opening meet. Two weeks down the line, when we head to Florida State, we want to be a little sharper and a little more fit and build from there as we go on toward conference and regionals."
-- SFA --
