North Carolina State University Athletics
Cross Country Ready For National Title Runs
11/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 21, 2003
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WATERLOO, Iowa - NC State will make its ninth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships on Monday, in Waterloo, Iowa, aiming for a top-10 finish in the national race. The women's squad enters the race ranked No. 5 in the country, and the men are No. 12. The women's team has been anchored by the strong running of Renee Gunning and Julia Lucas this fall. Andy Smith, the ACC Champion, has paced the men's team to back-to-back wins at the conference and district meets.
"Each year our goal is to finish in the top 10 at nationals," says 22-year head coach Rollie Geiger. "This year is no different."
The women's squad earned its national ranking without the services of one of its strongest runners in two-time All-American Kristin Price. Price will return to the lineup on Monday, adding strength to the front of the Pack.
"We've been waiting to get Kristin back in the lineup, but we've competed very well the last two meets without her," said Associate Head Coach Laurie Henes. "The women were going into the meet seeing Kristin's addition to the lineup as a complete bonus. We've been awfully close to the third-ranked team in the country the last two meets. Adding Kristin is indeed a bonus."
In Prices' absence from the course, Gunning and Lucas have stepped up with high-caliber runs at the conference and district levels. Gunning finished fourth last weekend at the District III race, followed closely by Lucas in eighth. Lucinda Hull has also been running well, earning all-district and all-conference honors in the last two meets. Josi Lauber and Kristina Roth performed well at districts, and Amy Arnold had her best collegiate run at the conference race, and was solid again at districts.
"We would like for Julia and Renee to each have a great race on Monday," says Henes. "Renee was great at districts, and Julia was solid at ACCs. To get them on the same level on the same day would be tremendous. That would be key to finishing well as a team."
The men's team has improved with each meet this season. Andy Smith and Chad Pearson have been key to scoring low by getting in the front of the field, while the rest of the team has been solid in maintaining a pack. Smith and Pearson were All-Americans in 2002, and have the potential to repeat. The pair redshirted last season in order to strengthen this season's lineup.
"With Chad and Andy running for us this season, we have a great mix of upperclass leadership," says Geiger. "Penetrating the front of the field is important in scoring at nationals. Right now we have a tightly-knit group running behind them, which can produce successful results and is key to finishing in the top 10 of the field."
Less than two seconds separated NC State's second and fifth scorers at the district race. Pearson stayed with freshmen runners Wesley Smith and Bobby Mack, and redshirt freshman Allen Bader. Devin Swann also finished well and will run on Monday. Ricky Brookshire will return to the lineup after resting last week in preparation for national's.
Last week's district race was the first 10K for the team this season, as districts and the NCAA Championship are both run on a longer course.
"It's interesting because you run 8k at the Pre-Nationals meet, and then run 10k at nationals. A coach did some research and compared the splits on this particular course, and they are almost identical. Not a whole lot changes. As long as you keep the same pace, all you've got to do is run two more kilometers."
Aside from battling other teams on Monday, the Pack will also battle cold weather conditions. As of Friday, there was a 30 percent chance of snow with a high around 27 degrees. The last time NC State raced at nationals was in 1988. That season the women's squad finished fourth overall.
"As far as the weather is concerned, the conditions are going to be difficult," commented Geiger. "What do coaches say? Everyone has got to run it!"
Both teams are making their ninth consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. Last season the women finished 14th and the men 23rd. Just two seasons ago, the Pack combined for one of its best performances in school history with the women taking runner-up honors and placing three women in All-America position, and the men took ninth with Pearson and Smith garnering All-America honors. The women's squad has never finished below 19th in the national meet, and the men have been in the top 16 in seven of the last eight years.
The races will be held at the Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa, near Byrnes Park. The men's 10K race will begin at 11:00 a.m. central time, and the women's 6K will follow at 12:15 p.m. central. Two-hundred and twenty-five runners will take the course. There will be 38 men's and women's teams vying for the title of national champion.
