University of Tennessee Athletics
VOLS TRAVEL TO GREATER LOUISVILLE CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC
September 27, 2006 | Cross Country
Sept. 27, 2006
The Tennessee men's cross country team will compete Saturday in the 8K Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic, held at E.P. Sawyer Park. This weekend marks the second-straight race the Vols have contested on a regional-host course. Tennessee is this year's South Regional host, while Louisville is the host of the Southeast Regional.
"Our team is looking forward to this weekend's meet," head coach George Watts said. "At this point we anticipate being at full strength for the first time this season. We hope to defend our title, but we expect some stiff competition from the University of Louisville, Eastern Kentucky and perhaps a few other teams.
Last year in Louisville, Tennessee scored 52 points to finish on top of the 35 teams competing and win its third-straight race to start the season. The Vols return this year with three of the five athletes who scored in 2005.
Captain Tyler DeVault will make his season debut for the Vols, who are expected to send 12 runners to the starting line. DeVault finished 13th overall and third among Vols last year to contribute to the team win. Ben Lukowski finished seventh overall last year, second on the team, and will be looking to build on his third-place overall finish at this year's UT Invitational. Senior Jeff Day also scored last year, finishing as the fourth Vol and 15th overall.
Seniors Dusty Miller and Chris Platt are each expected to compete in their first race of the season. Matt Piccarello, Nate Jansen, Denton Jones and Richie Bonilla, who finished second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively, among Vols at the UT Invitational will line up at the start for Tennessee. Yarrick Kincaid, Chris Rapp and Greg Thomas will round out Tennessee's team this weekend.
The Vols will face 38 teams in the Gold race including host Louisville, which won the UT Invitational on Sept. 15. Also in the mix will be SEC foes Kentucky and Vanderbilt, along with Clemson, Georgia Tech and Tennessee-Chattanooga. Tennessee has competed against the Mocs from Tennessee-Chattanooga in all three races this season.
