Aug. 27, 2014
Meet Information
Date: Sat., Aug. 30
Start Time: Women’s 5K: 9 a.m.; Men’s 5K: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Hilton Field at Fort Jackson
Promotions: Student Appreciation Meet: All students in attendance get double points.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina cross country team begins the 2014 season on Aug. 30 by hosting the Carolina Invitational, the first of three scheduled home meets this season at Hilton Field on Fort Jackson. Both the men’s and women’s races are scheduled for a 5K with the women’s race beginning at 9 a.m., and the men’s to follow.
The Gamecocks enter the season with second-year coach Andrew Allden as assistant track coach in charge of distance and cross country, who reunited last year with head track coach Curtis Frye after 12 years away from Columbia. Allden brings 28 years of coaching experience to the Gamecocks in regards to training.
The team, which returns the majority of its runners from last season when it finished 14th at the Southeast Regional, was ranked 15th in the 2014 regional preseason poll, which was released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The meet will have a regional flair on Saturday with the Gamecocks competing against The Citadel, Georgia Southern, Paine College, Pfeiffer College, Presbyterian, South Carolina State, Tennessee Tech and Savannah State. The men’s field consists of The Citadel, Paine College, Pfeiffer College, Presbyterian, South Carolina State, Tennessee Tech and Savannah State.
Results will be posted on GamecocksOnline.com following the day’s events.
Admission to Saturday’s Carolina Invitational is free, and all fans entering Fort Jackson must show a photo ID, proof of car insurance and vehicle registration.
To read the 2014 preview from GamecocksOnline’s Brad Muller and watch the video feature with sophomore Mary Reiser, click here.
REISER LEADING THE WAY
The sophomore will be the team’s top returner, after becoming the third freshman from South Carolina to be named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team in the last six years, as she placed 33rd at the SEC Championships in 2013. Reiser set the fifth-fastest 5K time in school history at the Royal Cross Country Challenge at 17:39.0 and finished in the top 30 at the NCAA Southeast Regional.
SEC PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Joining sophomore Mary Reiser on this year’s SEC Cross Country Preseason Watch List is Kayla Lampe, who did not compete during the 2013 season due to injury and has been hampered by another throughout the summer. The redshirt junior garnered SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2012 and second-team All-SEC accolades with a 13th-place showing at the SEC Championships (21:02.30). Later that season, she earned All-Southeast Region honors, finishing eighth with a time of 20:40.43, which is the fastest 6K time in South Carolina history.
RETURNING EXPERIENCE
Despite losing their top runner from a season ago, the Gamecocks return their next six runners in Mary Reiser (sophomore), Anna Todd (junior), Stephanie Berger (junior), Christine Kent (junior), Martha McCoy (sophomore), along with the possibility of Kayla Lampe (junior).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
With 27 athletes on the 2014 roster, the Gamecocks have 13 new faces on the team this fall that will mix in with six others who joined the program last year, meaning 70 percent of the team has only been at South Carolina for a year or less.
FRESHMAN CLASS
Coach Allden has considered this year’s freshman class “top-to-bottom to be one of the strongest recruiting classes [the program] has had.” Leading the group of 13 will be Florida natives Hannah Giangaspro, a top 3200-meter runner in the state, and Emily Harding, who posted a Top 30 nationally in the 1600 meters in 2013. Outside of Florida, the freshman class hails from the Carolinas, the Mid-Atlantic region and Illinois.
FINDING LEADERSHIP
With a young group, junior Anna Todd and sophomore Mary Resier have been credited by Coach Allden as being the team’s leaders through preseason training by setting the standard for practices.
DIRECTIONS AND INFORMATION: Fans wanting to come to the free event must have a government-issued photo I.D. for all attending plus proof of car insurance and vehicle registration for the driver to get on the base. The best entrance for fans to enter is the main gate, Gate 2, which enters Fort Jackson from Forest Drive (Exit 12 on Interstate 77). After passing through security in the far-right lane, go one mile on Strom Thurmond Drive before taking a left at the light onto Lee Drive. When the road dead ends, turn right onto Hampton Parkway. The cross country course will be a half mile ahead on the right.
