Oct. 25, 2007

After weeks of preparation, the South Carolina cross country team heads to Lexington, Ky. for the 2007 SEC Cross Country Championships on Sat., Oct. 27 at the Horse Park’s Steeplechase Course. The women’s 6,000-meter race is set to begin at 11:00 a.m.

The Gamecocks will face 11 other SEC schools including nationally ranked Arkansas (13), Florida (27) and Georgia (29). South Carolina’s competition also includes top-15 regionally ranked Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Tennessee. “The team has trained hard this fall and are prepared for the SEC’s. The race at Penn State was an eye-opener for the freshmen, that will help them this Saturday,” Head Coach Stan Rosenthal said.

South Carolina looks to senior Rebecca Chain and freshman Ashley Evens to lead the Gamecocks. Chain has led the Gamecocks in all five races this season, claiming two top-five finishes while Evens has been the top freshman for the Gamecocks finishing second for South Carolina in five straight races. “We need to close our team gap to under 60 seconds from the number one spot to number five, which is what we did in our two second place races. If the team does this we will do well,” Rosenthal said.

The Gamecocks have had a successful season, finishing second in both the Asics-Winthrop Invitational and the Charlotte Invitational. South Carolina also secured a win over Clemson with a third place finish at the Gamecock Invitational.

South Carolina will have 13 participants including freshmen Cassity Brewer, Courtney Bowen, Ashley Evens, Sarah Langdon, Chelsea Leroux, Laura Pramstaller and Tara Tae as well as sophomores Kelsey Bristol and Lisa McKinny, juniors Callie Rabun, Laura Regensburg and Megan Robers and senior Rebecca Chain.

The Gamecocks will spend the next two weeks preparing for the NCAA Southeast Regional on Sat., Nov. 10 in Louisville, Ky.