Cross Country Team Prepared for SoCon Championship
10/28/2010 2:30:00 PM | Track & Field/XC
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Cross Country team travels to Boone, N.C., this weekend for the 2010 Southern Conference Championships at Appalachian State University. The 5K race begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 30th at the State Farm Fields Complex. This is the second time Appalachian State has played host to the conference championship, but the first time the teams will compete on this course.
"The conference is very steep in the distance events this year and I do believe that we will see some great marks from all around the conference," said Eagles Cross Country Coach Natalie Smith. "I am really interested to see how we fare running in Boone since this will be a hilly course. I look for our whole team to run their best, and hopefully, all of them will see their best marks of the season."
Sophomore Sara Curry (Lawrenceville, Ga.), who ran an 18:54.9 time earlier this season to record the third-best 5K mark in the history of the program, will lead the Eagles on the course. Curry's third-place finish at the Jaguar Invitational and 15th-place finish at the USC Upstate Invitational in her last two meets have helped prepare her for this weekend.
"As a sophomore, I'm really excited for conference this year," Curry commented. "We have trained well and performed well as a team and we feel prepared for this competition."
Another sophomore who has stepped up for Georgia Southern is Heather McAllister. The Cartersville, Ga., native helped lead the Eagles with a personal best of 20:10.63 at the Clemson Invitational. Coming off her season-best time of 20:46.56 at the USC Upstate Invitational, junior Azura Robillard (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) will also contribute to the Eagles effort. Freshman Asea Mayfield (Marietta, Ga.), who made her collegiate debut earlier this season at the Clemson Invitational, will also be competing Saturday.
"Even after losing two of our three upperclassmen to injury, I'm looking forward to the weekend and am very optimistic," Smith said. "Going into a meet of this magnitude without the number-two and number-three returning runners could cause some anxiety. I believe our freshman and sophomore classes are going to carry their weight and run their best."
Joining Curry, Mayfield, McAllister and Robillard will be sophomores Talisha Rice (Stockbridge, Ga.) and Amanda Tennyson (Grayson, Ga.) and freshman Amanda Ventre (Acworth, Ga).
Championship results for the Georgia Southern Cross Country team will available at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. Fans can also visit the official facebook page of Georgia Southern Athletics at facebook.com/GSAthletics or get short updates at twitter.com/GSScores.
