University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE HOSTING 2006 NCAA SOUTH REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
November 09, 2006 | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 9, 2006
NCAA South Regional Notes in PDF Format
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee will serve as the host school for Saturday morning's 2006 NCAA South Regional Cross Country Championships at Lambert Acres Golf Club in Maryville. The women's 6,000-meter race will take place at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, followed by the men's 10,000-meter race at 11 a.m.
The South Regional is one of nine NCAA Division I meets taking place across the country this weekend, with the top two teams from each region and the top four individuals not on qualifying teams earning invitations to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 20. The other regionals and the host schools include Great Lakes (Bowling Green), Mid Atlantic (Bucknell), Midwest (Minnesota), Mountain (New Mexico), Northeast (MAAC Conference), South Central (Baylor), Southeast (Louisville) and West (Portland).
A total of 23 teams will compete for the NCAA South Region women's team title and NCAA berths, with No. 16 Georgia, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 21 Florida State and No. 25 Florida among those expected to contend for the crown. The host Lady Volunteers, who are four-time defending South Regional champions, will be running on their home course, which is where their current streak of region victories began when UT last hosted in 2002. Tennessee is led by five-time South Region Coach of the Year J.J. Clark.
Lady Volunteer Felicia Guliford (5th, 20:43.47) joins Florida State's Laura Bowerman (7th, 20:52.59), UT's Leah Soro (9th, 21:01.54) and Georgia's Jill Steffens (10th, 21:05.44) as the only returnees from last year's top 10 female finishers expected to run Saturday.
Competing women's teams include Alabama, Auburn, Belmont, Birmingham-Southern, Central Florida, Chattanooga, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville State, Lipscomb, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Samford, South Florida, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, UAB and Vanderbilt. Austin Peay did not enter a full squad but will have individuals competing.
On the men's side, 26 schools will have teams pursuing NCAA qualifying spots, including the following ranked squads: No. 10 Florida, No. 13 Alabama and No. 17 Florida State. The Tennessee men joined their female counterparts by winning on their home course in 2002, but since then, Georgia (2003), Florida State (2004) and Alabama (2005) have emerged victorious from this competition.
The top two men's finishers from a year ago return. They include 2005 victor Tonny Okello of South Alabama (29:31.70) and runner-up Andrew Lemoncello of Florida State (29:42.22). Other top-10 finishers from a year ago who are entered in the meet include Alabama's Augustus (4th, 30:01.11), South Alabama's Vincent Rono (5th, 30:07.98), UA's Abraham Kutingala (6th, 30:18.90), FSU's Tom Lancashire (7th, 30:24.06) and Georgia's Ian Burrell (8th, 30:31.12).
Competing men's teams include Alabama, Auburn, Austin Peay, Belmont, Birmingham-Southern, Central Florida, Chattanooga, East Tennessee, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville State, Lipscomb, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi, Mississippi State, Samford, South Alabama, South Florida, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech and Vanderbilt. Middle Tennessee did not enter a full squad but will have one individual competing.
Links to final results on Saturday may be found at www.utladyvols.com and www.utsports.com.
