North Carolina State University Athletics
Great American Cross Country Festival Comes to Cary
9/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 24, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. - SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. will be the site of outstanding competition on Friday and Saturday, September 26 and 27, as 400+ teams and over 4,000 runners from 29 states compete in the 5th annual Great American Cross Country Festival. The two-day event, now under the auspices of the National Scholastic Sports Foundation, will feature 37 nationally ranked teams in 30 races. College races begin the competition on Friday at 2:15 P.M. High school races will begin early Saturday morning at 7:30 A.M. and continue throughout the day.
The Great American Cross Country Festival will move for the third time in its history to a new permanent home, SAS Soccer Park. The newly designed course will begin inside the multimillion dollar 7,000 seat soccer stadium that served as the home of the WUSA's Carolina Courage. After a spectacular introduction featuring a drum line, balloons and much fanfare, runners will make their way through the SAS Soccer Park grounds before finishing in the stadium.
NC State teams enter the race ranked at No. 14 in the polls. Both teams have raced their front lines just once in the young season. Both teams were winners at the adidas/Tennessee Invitational two weeks ago.
Two-time All-American Kristin Price opened her third and final season with the squad as the individual winner of the event, clocking in with a time of 18:07.72 on the 5K course. Scoring teammates followed in fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth to secure a team win with a score of 21 points.
Renee Gunning, Lucinda Hull, Josianne Lauber, Megan Coombs, Julia Lucas and Kara Price will also be available for the featured champions race on Friday. Gunning, Hull, Lauber and Coombs were scorers at the Tennessee Invite.
The men's team is supported by a bevy of talent. Ricky Brookshire claimed the individual title at the Tennessee Invitational, marking his first collegiate win. Other runners in the pack will include returning All-Americans Chad Pearson and Andy Smith. Devin Swann, who was the Pack's top runner at the District and NCAA meets a year ago. Two-time All-ACC honoree David Christian will also suit up, and will be joined by John Henderson and first-year runner Allen Bader.
NC State will also enter runners in the unseeded and open race. Experienced runners Abigail Nelkie and Janelle Vadnais will run with the "B" squad, as will Erin Swain, winner of last week's Raleigh Invitational. Others racing with the group will be Amy Arnold, Claudin Hull, Ginger Wheeler and Michelle Popple.
For the men, six men will lineup including returning All-ACC runner Kurtis Marlowe, Matt Kassouf, John Huber, Lance Hall, Colin Cronin and Philip Stafford.
The squad will also enter seven women and five men in the unattached races.
The third addition of college races will kick off action Friday, September 26th, at 2:15 P.M. There will be eight college races in all with the featured race being the NIKE Race of Champions, set to go off at 4:15 P.M. for the women and 4:40 P.M. for the men.
Complete results will be available at www.nationalscholastic.org. Admission to spectators is free.
