KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State cross country team’s will kick off their 2012 campaign with a return trip to Nashville, Tenn., to compete in the Belmont Invitational on Friday. The women’s 4k race is slated to begin at 6:30 PM, with the men’s 5K race to follow at 7:00 PM.
The Percy Warner Park will be the host to another daunting field as SEC affiliates Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt will all be in attendance.
The women will continue their reloading year as the squad will compete with six freshmen in Claire Bohrer (Fayetteville, Ga.), Greciana Cooper (Decatur, Ga.), Amanda Cope (Winder, Ga./Winder Barrow HS), Theresa Creel (Lawrenceville, Ga), Destiny Jenkins (Athens, Ga./Athens Christian Academy) and Katie Souther (Walton, Ga/George Walton Academy). The host of freshmen will join veterans Heather Morris (Suwanee, Ga. / Peachtree Ridge HS), Jessica Postlewaite (Fishers, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern HS), Lauren Scott (Buford, Ga. / Mill Creek HS), Sydney Williams (Suwanee, Ga. / Collins Hill HS) and Alla Yoonis (Marietta, Ga. / Wheeler HS).
Picked to finish ninth in the A-Sun, the women will look to continue their climb to get back atop the conference as the team finished runner-up at both the 2009 and 2007 A-Sun Championship.
The Owls’ men, picked to finish second in the recently released Atlantic Sun preseason coaches poll and ninth in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Regional Poll, will look to better their last performance at the Percy Warner Park.
In 2011 the squad competed at the park twice, with the last run coming at the A-Sun Cross Country Championship where they finished second. Led by returning seniors Nabil Hamid (Oromia, Ethiopia / Druid Hills HS) and Ryan Burruss (Kennesaw, Ga. / Harrison HS), the team looks to return to their winning ways as they captured back-to-back conference titles in 2010 and 2011. Running along with Hamid and Burruss will be senior Kyle Pearson, sophomores Josh Jenkins (Athens, Ga. / Athens Christian Academy) and Natan Rueter (Lennik, Belgium, Eastern Kentucky) and freshmen Justin Howell (Marietta, Ga. / Pope HS) and Jose Santos (Sintra, Portugal).
“We will utilize our first three races as a training period,” head coach Ryan Wagner said. “"I refer to training and competition as banking. If you put consistent deposits into your account, they will gain interest and allow you to make a large withdrawal when needed. Racing tired in the present will only gain interest for the future. Although we will be racing tired, I do expect to see some positive results on Friday.”
For updates on the Kennesaw State cross country program, you can follow the team on Twitter @KSUTrackFieldXC.
