University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Cross Country "Hungry" For Competition, Ready For Pre-National Invitational
10/14/2010 | Cross Country
Oct. 14, 2010
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - The Richmond men's and women's cross country teams travel to Terre Haute, Ind. this week to compete in the ISU Pre-National Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 16 hosted by Indiana State University. Both teams will compete in the top-seeded blue races, with the women's 6K kicking off at 11:00 a.m. and the men's 8K starting at 12:10 p.m.
"We're looking forward to competing this weekend," said women's head coach Lori Taylor. "It's going to be a great meet. The course is a true cross country course with rolling hills and several turns. It's unique since you can stand in one place and see nearly all the race."
This will be the seventh year in a row that Indiana State University is hosting the Pre-National Invitational. The meet will take place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, also the location of the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's National Cross Country Championship on Nov. 22.
"This is the most competitive meet in the nation so far this season," said men's head coach Steve Taylor. "The best teams in the NCAA will compete with their eye on earning 'At-Large Points' towards qualifying for the NCAA Championships to be held on this same course in November. This is the time of the season where everyone is fit and the teams are hungry for a race. We feel our team is in the right mind set and looking forward to the competition."
The ISU Pre-National Invitational is the biggest collegiate cross country invitational of the season with over 1,600 runners competing in six races. There will be 71 men's teams and 80 women's teams participating, including 18 of the top 30 men's and women's teams. Of the men's top 10 teams, Stanford, ranked first in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), will be accompanied by Colorado (fourth), Northern Arizona (fifth) and Portland (eighth). In the women's competition, four of the top 10 teams will be present: Florida State (third), Georgetown (fifth), Arizona (sixth), and Colorado (ninth). For a complete list of the teams participating, including the box assignments, click here
Coach Taylor added, "It will be the teams that keep their composure and those that do not exhaust their mental energy before the race that will excel. Our athletes know we can't make the race take place any sooner, so we'll methodically go through our regular pre-race routine with the focus on Saturday."
In addition to Richmond, two other Atlantic 10 competitors are attending the meet, Dayton and LaSalle, and a number of Southeast Regional teams will be there: Clemson, Eastern Kentucky, James Madison, Liberty, Louisville, NC State, Western Kentucky, William & Mary, and UNC. Leading up to this weekend, the Spider men are ranked eighth and the women are ranked ninth in the Southeast Region.
"This meet brings together the best teams in the nation," added Lori Taylor. "We want to control what we do and have the best race possible. If we do that, then we will be where we want to be."
The men's blue 8K race begins at 12:10 p.m. on Saturday, and the women's blue 6K starts at 11:00 a.m.
Stay tuned to RichmondSpiders.com for a complete report following Saturday's meet. In addition, the race will be shown for free through a live website feed. The two websites carrying the live feed are Flotrack and GoSycamores.com.
For more in-depth coverage on the race, visit Coach Taylor's blog, or follow him on Twitter.
