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Nov. 9, 2006
The men’s and women’s Cross Country teams will race this Saturday, November 11, at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships at the University of Louisville. At stake are two automatic bids to the National Championship in Terre Haute, Indiana and both Cavalier squads have the chance to make it back to the national meet. The event, which will feature schools from Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, will begin at 11 a.m. ET with the women’s 6-kilometer race followed by the men’s 10-kilometer race at 12:15 p.m.
Last year, both the men’s and women’s teams qualified for the national meet, the first time in school history that both teams had qualified in the same year. The men gained an automatic bid by finishing second in the Southeast region behind regional winner William and Mary. The women placed third behind ACC powerhouses Duke and NC State, and received an at-large bid due to their great regional finish.
This year the team favorite heading into this weekend on the men’s side is national No. 8 North Carolina State. Fresh off their ACC Championship win, the Wolfpack look to also recover the regional title that they lost in 2005 to William and Mary. The No. 26 University of Louisville Cardinals also has an opportunity to claim an automatic bid, as they return All-Regional performer Wesley Korir. Two-time Southeast Regional champion Josh McDougal of Liberty University looks to continue his individual dominance on the men’s side and win his third straight individual title. Challenging him will be Jacob Korir of Eastern Kentucky as well as UVa’s own Jan Foerster. Junior Wesley Smith of NC State also will be in the running for the individual title.
The University of Virginia Cavaliers come into regionals as No. 25 in the country and look to capture one of the two automatic bids from the Southeast region. UVa returns two All-Regional performers from last year, fourth-years Foerster and Andrew Dumm. Virginia will rely heavily on its upperclassmen along with All-ACC performer Andy Biladeau to place within the top two teams. Fourth-years Taylor Smith, Alex Tatu, and Alec Lorenzoni along with second-year Andrew Jesien will round out UVa’s scoring.
On the women’s side, No.2 North Carolina State is the favorite to claim the Southeast Regional title. The Wolfpack return three All-Regional performers in Angelina Blackmon, Jemissa Hess, and Magin Kebert along with 2006 ACC Champion Julia Lucas. No.14 Duke also has a chance to claim an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships along with No. 26 Virginia Tech. Favorites to take the individual title include Lucas, Michelle Sikes of Wake Forest, and Cavaliers third-year Emily Harrison.
The Cavalier women have a No.22 national ranking heading into this weekend and look to avoid waiting for an at-large bid by finishing within the top two. The Cavaliers return All-Regional performers Harrison and Kara Scanlin as well as All-ACC third-year Katie Read to form a formidable top three. Steady fifth-year Laura Hodges will once again be counted on to bridge the gap and provide Virginia with a solid fourth scorer. The Hoos will also rely on second-years Lauretta Dezubay and Sara Casscells, first-year Samantha Stafford, and fourth-year Janine Ricci to provide experience and support throughout the rest of the championship season.