Oct. 28, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina Cross Country/Track and Field program will host the 2005 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championship Saturday, October 29th at Hilton Field on Fort Jackson. The competition will kick-off with the men’s 8k at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women’s 6k at 10:30 a.m.
“We got the No. 1, No. 8 and No. 20 teams in the country and on the women’s side we have three teams that are in the top 30 as well,” USC Cross Country Coach Stan Rosenthal said about Saturday’s competition. “It’s certainly the best cross-country meet that will be held in South Carolina in terms of Olympians, All-Americans, National Champions and Foot Locker Champions. It really is an all-star field.”
Arkansas is favored in both the men’s and women’s competitions. On the men’s side, the Razorbacks, led by the most successful coach in track and field John McDonnell, are ranked No. 1 and contending for their 32nd straight cross country conference title. Florida holds the No. 8 spot, while Alabama is ranked No. 20 in the country. On the women’s side, Arkansas has the highest ranking of the SEC schools at No. 18, while two-time defending champion Tennessee is right behind at No. 21 spot and Georgia coming in ranked at No. 28.
The very young Gamecock team is looking to improve from last year’s 11th place finish and have their best performance of the season after several tough competitions earlier this month. Sophomore Rebecca Chain is expected to lead the pack for the Gamecocks as the top runner, while senior Shay Shelton and freshman Anna Petrov will follow close behind in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.
“We’re just going to race our hearts out and see where that gets us,” said USC Cross Country Coach Stan Rosenthal. “We’ve seen a lot of improvements throughout the season. Hopefully, all that training and hard work will pay off this weekend.”
Gamecocks scheduled to compete in Saturday’s championship are Nicki Breves, Kelsey Bristol, Rebecca Chain, Anna Petrov, Laura Regensburg, Megan Robers, Alyse Shayer, LaShay Shelton, Jessica Smith, and Theresa Verostek.
Saturday’s competition is free to the public and parking is available at the course. For directions to the field, results or further information, contact USC Media Relations at (803) 777-5204 or go to www.uscsports.com.
Comments from Friday’s SEC Cross Country Championship Press Conference:
Arkansas Men’s Coach John McDonnell:
“First of all, I’d like to thank South Carolina for taking this meet on such short notice and doing such a fantastic job. This is a great place to run. The weather is always nice and we’re glad to be back here.”
On the championship: “It is going to be a very tough race this year on the men’s side for sure. There are some good teams all of a sudden, Alabama, Florida, ourselves and a host of individuals for different schools. I think it is going to be a real interesting meet because last year we were head and shoulders above everybody else, but not this year. The top three spots will be whoever is going to have a good day.”
Outlook on national championship: ” The national championship is something we always have in the back of our mind because we have some good people. Anything can happen. If you’re in the top four or five teams and it’s happened in the past, you can win. If you’re ready then you have a chance. I think we have a national class. We’re ranked number one and it’s hard for me to believe we’re number one because Colorado is the defending champion and they have everyone back. We’re a good team.”
On course at Fort Jackson: “The course is going to be spectator friendly, which I think it’s very important that we do that. It’s nice for the parents; they’re going to see the whole race, which is nice. The runners are going to run good no matter where it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s six loops or two loops, they’re going to get out and run. This is a good course because it’s fair.”
Arkansas Women’s Head Coach Lance Harter
“We’re excited about the SEC championships. We’re very appreciative of South Carolina stepping up and taking the championship and doing it at the last minute trying to go through all the x’s and o’s.”
On the championship: “We come in. We were second last year by two points. We lost four people. We do have some senior leadership but we’re counting on five freshmen to fill out our roster. We’ve been very blessed so far this year to have a freshman team that’s been a contributor. They haven’t missed a beat. They haven’t been intimidated. We tried to schedule very effectively this year to prep us for this meet and the national championships.”
On the dynamics of the team: “This is probably the most fun team I’ve had to train. They’re always excited about the opportunity to compete. They train well. Knock on wood- everyone’s healthy. They take good care of themselves and everyone’s focused and that’s unique considering the amount of youth we have on this team. We’re real excited about today but also the future.”
On Laura Jakosky’s return this season: “Laura and I go way, way back. She’s very gifted academically. She could have probably easily graduated in three years let alone for let alone stay around for an extra semester to help this team. I think that’s the spirit and camaraderie we have on this group. Obviously she’s cast a large shadow over this young group to say ‘Hey this is the way it’s done at Arkansas.'”
South Carolina Head Coach Curtis Frye
On hosting the championship: ” It’s always an honor to have an SEC championship. You only get the chance one in every twelve years. It’s a misfortune of one place for us to have a fortune. (Hurricane) Katrina was a devastation on part of the country and anything that we could do to relieve any of the pressures off persons down at LSU to help do something greater than run a cross country meet or greater than an athletic event would be less than what we think of ourselves in athletics and what we teach of our young people. To take on this opportunity it was and is difficult. I have an outstanding staff that has done this. Stan Rosenthal has done an incredible job and he is tireless in his efforts and putting forth that he wants to have the best cross country event possible.”
On the cross country and track and field in the SEC: “The rest of the country is watching to see how the SEC goes off. The SEC is the premier conference in this country. It has won the most championships of any sport, thanks to Coach McDonnell, ahead of basketball or anything else. There are 70 national championships in the SEC and over 50 of those belong to cross country and track and field and so we are not just in the premier conference with the premier sporting events. We are the premier sport event for the conference. Sometimes they try to overshadow that, but that’s the reality of it. We have won more conference championships and more national championships in this sport than all the other sports combine. So the recognition to have this kind of event in our town, Columbia, South Carolina is an honor and a privilege to host.”
On community/spectator response: “I’m one that the cup is half full and it’s never empty. If you have a great product then people will come to watch a great product and this is a great product. What these athletes bring from around the country and around this conference for running fans will attract a small opportunity for many people who love the sport of cross country in this region to get a chance to come watch this event. You’re going to see people that are going to run on a world class level, that are Olympians. And so when you put forth that kind of product and advertise that it exists, we don’t take a back seat.”
” It doesn’t have anything to do with the facility. It’s do you line up and lay it on the line, and that’s the truest form of athletics. The climate is going to be the same for everybody. If you are really a lover of sorts and you can’t appreciate the contest where people go head to head then you’re not a sports fan.”
On the Gamecocks: “Our team consists of one senior, four freshman, two sophomores. Rebecca Chain, last year was our fifth place runner, and she’s our No. 1 runner this year. They have a lot of fun. Stan is very encouraging. Our big thing is their 3.45 GPA and their Academic All-American. We stress what’s important- have a lot of fun, making sure our kids are in the honors college. This is an opportunity for them to exhibit their talents along with athletics.”
“Our whole team is going to be there, dressed in Gamecock attire. They’ll chase them around the track and we will cheer for them and whatever place they are in. We’ll follow them until they come to the finish line. They are a spirited group. They have a lively and enthusiastic coach in Stan who will be yelling and screaming all up and down the course. I’m fortunate to have someone like Stan and those young people are to, because they’re only going to do things one way, right. Our kids are going to run right. They may not win but they’re going to put a big effort in.”
Arkansas’ Josphat Boit, SEC men’s defending champion:
“This time it’s going to be tough because there are some guys from Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Of course my teammates, they are very talented. It’s not something I’m taking light. There’s a lot of pressure, but I think I do well under pressure.”
“I like running in front. I’m a front-runner. The more people are closer to me the more I try to push and get away from them. I’m kind of getting confident in the situation now.”
Arkansas’ Laura Jakosky, Razoback’s top runner:
” We don’t think about it so much as the men are better. Obviously they are incredible. When you hear Arkansas, you think of the men. But the women’s program we kind of established ourselves in our own right. We are still the most successful cross country team in the SEC and we’ve won so many championships ourselves. We all respect each other just like we respect our opponents.”
“With any race we kind of know how the teams match up and obviously Tennessee and Georgia are the teams to beat. We’re focused on getting our five runners ahead of their five runners. It’s the same as any other, you just go in there to compete hard and have fun and do the best you can. So in that case it’s the same as any other.”
“Having people there and cheering for you makes it awesome. It’s what gets you on. It helps pump up the excitement.”
Auburn’s Angela Homan, SEC women’s two-time defending champion:
“It feels pretty good, it feels great. There’s a lot of pressure on my back, but I’ve just been extremely blessed these past few years.”
“This is my last SEC’s for cross country and this year has just gone by extremely fast. Yes, I do have track and I’ll go to the SEC Championship there but it’s a fast season and I can’t believe it’s my last SEC’s. These four years have just gone by so fast.”
“We had a rough start at the beginning of the year with injuries and illness, temperatures and stuff, but right now everybody seems to be healthy and everyone’s hoping to run their best. We’re going to give it a good shot. I know that the first few meets we did have everybody and this time we do so we just hope to do well.”
