Cross Country Headed to UAB Blazer Classic
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s cross country team competes in the Blazer Classic hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, racing at 8:50 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, over a 6,000m course at Veterans Park in Meadowbrook, Ala.
The event is the second for the Gamecocks in the 2020 season after a great showing at the FSU Invite earlier this month where the team finished in second. The meet will hold a total of six races with both men and women competing in ‘green’, ‘gold’ and ‘open’ races. Schools are limited to 12 competitors in the gold race. There will be no spectators allowed at the event.
“We are in a good, solid, 10-team race this weekend at the Blazer Classic,” Cross Country coach Andrew Allden said. “The biggest thing for our team is that, even though this is only our second meet of the season, it’ll be our first 6K of the season, which is our championship distance that we’ll be facing at the SEC Championships in two weeks. It’ll be interesting to see how some folks transition from a 5K to a 6K. I think we are a bit better of a 6K team than we are a 5K team.”
Carolina will race against nine other teams in the ‘gold’ race. Auburn, UAB, Lee (TN), Southern Mississippi, Southern Alabama, Clemson, Louisville, Arkansas State and FAU will all compete alongside the Gamecocks. Team scores will be computed by totaling the top five runners’ finish positions. The sixth and seventh runners will count as displacers.
Katerina Kendrix and Claudia Satzke will be making their debuts for the Gamecocks while Kathleen Abrams, Savannah Bowers, Hannah Cella, Hope Dominique, Rachel Hensler, Kira Jenkins, Isabella Pisani, Sarah Rise, Heather Stone and Brooke Wilson will all compete for Carolina.
The meet will not be streamed but can be followed live on XPressTiming.com. There are also safety protocols in place that include:
- At a minimum, all participants are required to complete PCR Testing within 72 hours prior to the competition
- There will also be an affidavit completed and returned to UAB confirming negative results
- All participants will be supplied a disposable mask that is REQUIRED to wear to the start line.
- All Coaches and Staff must have a on a face covering at all times
Two weeks after the Blazer Classic the Gamecocks will compete at the 2020 SEC Championships on Oct. 30 in Baton Rouge, La.
For more information on the Gamecocks, continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com. Subscribe to South Carolina on Stanza to get schedule updates directly in your calendars.
