Oct. 15, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina cross country team closes out its regular season schedule on Sunday in the challenging Indiana State Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind.

The women’s 6K Blue Race is scheduled to begin at 11:40 a.m. on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.

BREAKING DOWN THE FIELD
Sunday’s meet will be the most challenging meet of the Gamecocks’ regular season schedule. The meet features four nationally ranked teams and 29 regionally ranked teams in the field of 40 teams. More than 400 runners will be competing in the race. The strength of the field is very similar to the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational, where the Gamecocks competed against eight nationally ranked and 18 regionally ranked squads in a field of 26 teams earlier this season. Below is a list of teams competing on Sunday.

Alabama-Birmingham
Baylor
Central Michigan
Charlotte
Cincinnati
College of Charleston
Colorado
Cornell
Dartmouth
Dayton
DePaul
Eastern Kentucky
Florida State
Georgetown
Indiana
Indiana State
Iona
IUPUI
La Salle
Kansas State
Louisville
Loyola-Marymount
Michigan
Mississippi State
New Mexico State
Oakland
Ohio
Purdue
Rice
South Carolina
Toledo
Tulsa
UC-Davis
UC-Santa Barbara
UMKC
UTEP
Vanderbilt
Virginia Tech
Wyoming
Xavier

THIS WEEK’S LINEUP
The following Gamecocks traveled to Terre Haute for the meet: Beatrice Biwott, Emma Borowicz, Penny Boswell, Ginsie Britton, Erin Fedewa, Sara Hartley, Jessica Hartman, Liz Locke, Meredith Mill, Sarah Pellegrini, Nicole Rheinlander and Megan Rother.

LESS THAN FULL STRENGTH
The Gamecocks could be without three of their top seven runners on Sunday. Sophomores Scola Jepngetich and Liz Locke and freshman Meredith Mill could all miss Sunday’s meet due to injury or illness. The three runners hope to be back to 100 percent health in time for the SEC Championships on Oct. 31 in Knoxville, Tenn.

THE COURSE
The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center will be one of the most challenging courses the Gamecocks have competed on this season. The 6K course is the site of the 2011 NCAA Championships. The course has hosted the last eight NCAA Championships and nine out of the last 10. For a map of the course, click here.