Golden Eagle runners picked for middle-of-the-pack OVC finishes
The Tech cross country teams will host the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference cross country championships and hope running the meet on their home course at Southern Hills Golf Course might allow them to sneak up and finish higher than expected.
Tech men picked sixth, women tabbed for
seventh
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech cross country teams
will host the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference cross country
championships on October 30, and coach Tony Cox’ teams hope
running the meet on their home course might allow them to sneak up
and finish higher than expected.
In a preseason vote of cross country coaches in the league, the
Golden Eagle men are tabbed for a sixth place showing and the Tech
women are picked for seventh place. Eastern Kentucky is picked to
claim first place in both the men’s and women’s
races.
“We have some experience coming back on the men’s
team, but the women’s team has lost several experienced
runners,” said Golden Eagle head coach Tony Cox.
“I’m really anxious to see just how all of our new
runners will do, and how they can help their teams. It should be a
fun year.”
Leading the men’s team will be senior Sam Taylor, the
team’s top finisher in six of seven races last year including
a 16th place overall finish at the OVC meet to narrowly
miss all-OVC recognition. Six other returnees who saw action last
year for the TTU men’s squad include Chris Bishop, Steven
Bretz, Daniel Francis, John Greene, Nathan Livesay, Ben Shassere
and Joseph DeLorenzo, a fifth-year senior.
Tech’s newcomers are freshmen Matthew Bishop, Tyler Eads,
Nathan Snow plus Drew DeLorenzo and Kolbe Andrzejewski, both of
whom were redshirts last season. They will look to replace veterans
Jarrad Read, Ben Thompson and Peter Woerner.
The only two runners with much experience last year who return for
the women’s team are Kathryn Forbes and Traci Jones, while
Morgan Taylor returns after sitting out one season as a redshirt.
Newcomers hoping to fill the void by graduated veterans Tiffany
Palmer and Amanda Simmons will be freshmen Leah Bradley, Brittany
Brown, Rebecca Cline, Yeshi Dohrmann, Amelia McCoy, Meghan
O’Donoghue, Emily Williams and Peri Winborne.
Last season the EKU men’s team claimed its 18th OVC championship and fourth in a row while the Colonel women’s program took home its 24th overall title and fourth in a row.
On the men’s side in this year’s preseason poll Eastern Kentucky received 81 points and nine first-place votes to top the list. EKU was followed by Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois in a tie for second (68 points each). The polling was rounded out by Jacksonville State (55), Morehead State (50), Tennessee Tech (34), UT Martin (33), Austin Peay (28), Murray State (21) and Tennessee State (12).
On the women’s side, the EKU women also claimed nine first-place votes and 81 points, and were followed by Eastern Illinois (70), Murray State (63), Southeast Missouri (59), Jacksonville State (47), Morehead State (39), Tennessee Tech (29), Austin Peay (28), UT Martin (24) and Tennessee State (10).
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, who joined the OVC in July 2008, is still in a reclassification process to Division I and will not compete at the OVC Championship this season.
The 2010 OVC Cross Country Championships will be held Oct. 30 at a site to be determined. The first regular season action of the 2010 season occurs the first weekend of September.
2010 OVC MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PREDICTED ORDER OF
FINISH
(as voted on by the OVC head cross country coaches)
TEAM POINTS
1. Eastern
Kentucky (9 first-place
votes)
81
2. Southeast
Missouri
(1)
68
Eastern
Illinois
68
4.
Jacksonville
State
55
5.
Morehead
State
50
6.
Tennessee
Tech
34
7.
UT
Martin
33
8.
Austin
Peay
28
9.
Murray
State
21
10.
Tennessee
State
12
(Teams awarded 9 points for a first-place vote, 8 for second, etc.)
2010 OVC WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PREDICTED ORDER OF
FINISH
(as voted on by the OVC head cross country
coaches)
TEAM POINTS
1.
Eastern Kentucky (9 first-place
votes)
81
2.
Eastern Illinois
(1)
70
3.
Murray
State
63
4.
Southeast
Missouri
59
5.
Jacksonville
State
47
6.
Morehead
State
39
7.
Tennessee
Tech
29
8.
Austin
Peay
28
9.
UT
Martin
24
10.
Tennessee
State
10
(Teams awarded 9 points for a first-place vote, 8 for second, etc.)
