Oct. 15, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina cross country team returns to action Saturday for the first time in two weeks when Coach Stan Rosenthal’s team heads to the Princeton Invitational for the final tune-up before the SEC Championships. The race is scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. at West Windsor Field.

Hosted by No. 5 Princeton, the meet will be the first and only 6K race the Gamecocks get before the conference championships, due partly to the cancellation of the Mississippi Invitational last month. The race as Ole Miss was also a scheduled 6K race and would have given South Carolina a look at the SEC Championship course before rain forced the cancellation.

The Gamecocks will face plenty of stiff competition in addition to the nationally ranked host Tigers. Columbia University, ranked fifth in the Northeast Region, is receiving votes in the national poll as well. Other teams competing include Farleigh Dickinson, Haverford, Iona, Penn, Pittsburgh, Monmouth, New Jersey Institute of Technology, regionally ranked St. Joseph’s and UMBC.

“We’re trying to get that distance to get ready for the conference meet,” Rosenthal said. “It’s supposed to be a fairly flat course on what was a Revolutionary War battlefield. It’s going to be a good meet. There are five people that run in the 17’s, including Dani and Beatrice. Another eight runners are under 18:10 and then 20 more under 18:30. So it’s good competition. Our goal is to try to win and certainly do our best. Being in the top two or three with this competition will be great. Everyone’s healthy so hopefully it will stay that way. We’ve had very good practices in the rain. We’ve been improving our practices week to week, so we should be improving our races week to week.”

SOUTH CAROLINA RANKED IN THE REGION
South Carolina is ranked No. 15 in the South Region in the latest poll released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Gamecocks have been ranked regionally every week this season with a peak of No. 13.

PROJECTED TOP FIVE GAMECOCK RUNNERS
Dani Barnes – Senior – Pulled out of the Charlotte Invitational due to shin injury
Beatrice Biwott – Sophomore – Had 36 second PR at Charlotte to place sixth overall
Ashley Evens – Junior – Missed the Charlotte Invitational but ready to compete
Tatum Tyler – Freshman – Freshman has been a top five runner in all three races and set a PR at Charlotte
Laura Pramstaller – Junior – Missed the 2008 cross country season but has run strong this year
Second Group: Nicole Rheinlander (Sophomore), Chelsea Leroux (Junior), Sara Hartley (Freshman), Erin Fedewa (Sophomore)

COMPETING WELL
Through three races, South Carolina holds a 24-3 record against Division I competition this year. The Gamecocks won the Gamecock Invitational and the Winthrop Invitational to start the season before taking fourth place at the Charlotte Invitational.

RUNNING THE 6K
Saturday’s race is just the fourth of the seasons for South Carolina and the first 6K race of the bunch. The SEC Championships held Oct. 31 at Oxford, Miss., will be a 6K race, so the experience at Princeton will be much needed for Coach Rosenthal to get a good look at his team in competition.

LAST TIME OUT
South Carolina’s cross country team finished fourth at the Charlotte Invitational after two of the top three runners missed the meet for separate reasons. Sophomore Beatrice Biwott had a 36 second PR to finish sixth overall at 17:33, followed by Tatum Tyler, Laura Pramstaller, Sarah Hartley and Chelsea Leroux. Top runner Dani Barnes was held out of the race due to a slight shin injury, and No. 3 runner Ashley Evens did not make the trip due to family reasons.