University of Tennessee Athletics
XC Adds Bulldog Stampede to Schedule
September 19, 2007 | Women's Cross Country
Meet Notes
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Because last weekend???s Tennessee Invitational had too few teams to count as an official meet, the University of Tennessee women???s cross country team has added another trip to its travel itinerary.?? The Lady Vols will be in Athens, Ga., on Saturday morning to compete in the University of Georgia???s Bulldog Stampede.
The 5,000-meter race at the University of Georgia Golf Course will include the host Bulldogs, the Lady Vols, Auburn, Georgia Southern, Miami (Fla.), South Alabama and others.?? Georgia, picked to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference by the league???s coaches, currently ranks 13th in the USTFCCCA National Poll, while UT is 26th.?? Race time is 8 a.m. Eastern Time.
???The reason we are going to this meet is because our event (Tennessee Invitational) last week was not an NCAA-legal meet,??? UT Head Coach J.J. Clark said.?? ???Only four runners from the other team (East Tennessee State) were at the starting line, so I knew right off the bat that the race would not count for us.?? After the race, I immediately started looking for a meet to keep our team eligible for NCAA postseason.
???We found the Bulldog Stampede, and our purpose is to go to Athens, stay healthy and take the necessary step to try to get us NCAA-eligible for the end of the year.?? We???ll do what we need to do, run this race and then gear up and fire hard next weekend at the Paul Short Run
The last time Tennessee ran at this venue, the Lady Vols picked up their first SEC Championship trophy of the Clark era.?? It proved to be a launching pad for three straight conference victories for UT.?? None of the current squad???s runners, though, have set foot on the UGA course.
Tennessee???s top runners entering the meet are juniors Sarah Bowman (Warrenton, Va.) and Katie Van Horn (Glendora, N.J.) and sophomore Jackie Areson (Delray Beach, Fla.).?? Bowman, Van Horn and Areson finished first, third and fifth, respectively, at the Belmont Opener back on Aug. 31.?? Last weekend, unofficially, Bowman again triumphed, followed by Areson and Van Horn in second and third places at the Tennessee Invitational.?? All posted what would have been 5K personal bests, including a 17:36.66 readout by Bowman.
Freshman Brittany Sheffey (Bellport, N.Y.) and sophomore Phoebe Wright (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) have established themselves as the team???s fourth and fifth runners at this point in the season.?? They filled those roles in each of UT???s meets thus far.
Wildcards in the process are juniors Heidi Magill-Dahl (Orem, Utah) and Leah Soro (Knoxville, Tenn.), both of whom have not appeared in a race this season.?? It is likely that the two all-region and all-conference caliber runners will not see action until the Paul Short Run on Sept. 28.
Others slated to make the trip to Athens are juniors Rolanda Bell (Laurelton, N.Y.) and Kimarra McDonald (Lumberton, N.J.).?? They have been UT???s sixth and seventh runners in the first two races.
