Cross Country Teams to Take Part in SLC Pre-Conference Meet Over Weekend
9/15/2017 9:39:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
ABILENE, Texas – For the first time in a long time, the Stephen F. Austin men's and women's cross country teams will be racing at full strength when the team heads to the SLC Pre-Conference meet this weekend in Abilene. Abilene Christian is the host for the event, which is named the Naimadu Classic and features a few Southland schools as well as other institutions.
More than just a return to action for members of either team, the weekend's meet offers the unique opportunity to run on and feel out the course that will be run as part of the conference championships on October 27th, while also getting the runners accustomed to the full length race again.
"Basically this weekend is an opportunity for our team to see what the conference course is going to be like on October 27th", said SFA head coach Cody Clark. "It's a full race distance, and so the men and women will both run the exact course that they will run for the conference championships. It's a two-kilometer loop, a flat and fast course, so we're looking forward to getting a good feel for it. It's very important to get this first race out of the way, shake off some of the nerves and excitement. A lot of our people haven't raced in quite some time, so getting over those first race nerves is going to be important."
After spending a the offseason working hard and putting in the mileage, Saturday's race should be a barometer of where the team is at, as well as where it needs to be before the Southland championships roll around.
"For us, it's our first race all together, so we'll get to see a few things", said Clark. "One, where are we at after all the training we've done. Two, we get to see who our racers are and who's going to step up, and three, we've been at pretty high volume as of late and we're looking to see who can fight through that."
The men's 8k race will begin at 8:00 a.m, followed by the women's 6k kicking off at 8:35 a.m. Final results can be found at sfajacks.com after the Naimadu Classic concludes.
-SFA-
More than just a return to action for members of either team, the weekend's meet offers the unique opportunity to run on and feel out the course that will be run as part of the conference championships on October 27th, while also getting the runners accustomed to the full length race again.
"Basically this weekend is an opportunity for our team to see what the conference course is going to be like on October 27th", said SFA head coach Cody Clark. "It's a full race distance, and so the men and women will both run the exact course that they will run for the conference championships. It's a two-kilometer loop, a flat and fast course, so we're looking forward to getting a good feel for it. It's very important to get this first race out of the way, shake off some of the nerves and excitement. A lot of our people haven't raced in quite some time, so getting over those first race nerves is going to be important."
After spending a the offseason working hard and putting in the mileage, Saturday's race should be a barometer of where the team is at, as well as where it needs to be before the Southland championships roll around.
"For us, it's our first race all together, so we'll get to see a few things", said Clark. "One, where are we at after all the training we've done. Two, we get to see who our racers are and who's going to step up, and three, we've been at pretty high volume as of late and we're looking to see who can fight through that."
The men's 8k race will begin at 8:00 a.m, followed by the women's 6k kicking off at 8:35 a.m. Final results can be found at sfajacks.com after the Naimadu Classic concludes.
-SFA-
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