Birmingham, AL—The Gulf South Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships return to Veteran’s Park in Hoover, Alabama for the fourth consecutive year.
The 2010 Championships take place on Saturday, November 6th in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover, Alabama. The 14-team, 5K women’s event starts at 9:00 a.m. (Central time), followed by the 11-team, 8K men’s meet which starts approximately 30 minutes after the finish of the women’s race. Complete information regarding Veteran’s Park can be found by clicking here. Complete tournament results can also be found on the GSC website at www.gulfsouthconference.org
The Hoover High School and Spain Park High School Track and Field Booster Clubs will serve as hosts of the Championships. Veteran’s Park is no stranger to high-profile cross country events, hosting the Nike Invitational and Great American Races.
Each of the race’s Top Ten finishers based on time are automatically named members of the All-GSC First Team, while the 11th through 20th finishers earn Second Team accolades. The true freshman with the best time will garner GSC Freshman of the Year laurels, while the GSC Coach of the Year award will be selected by the head coaches on Monday afternoon.
WOMEN’S RACE PREVIEW
As usual, the women’s field is packed with some of the region’s top squads. Harding seeks to set a GSC record with its sixth consecutive Conference crown, but HU will have stiff competition this year. Alabama-Huntsville enters at No. 2 in the USTFCCCA South Region Top 10, followed by the No. 3 Lady Bisons and No. 4 Arkansas Tech. West Florida, Delta State and West Alabama are No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, while No. 10 Valdosta State completes the list of regionally ranked squads.
An impressive field of runners will await the starting gun on Saturday, as 13 of the last year’s Top 20 runners return. There will be a new individual champion as last year’s winner, HU’s Katy Grant, graduated. ATU’s Bailee Miller earned the GSC Freshman of the Year accolade a year thanks to a second-place finish. Harding returns five Top 10 finishers led by Gladys Kimtai and Rysper Sirma. UWA’s Carolyn Mancuso placed eighth a year ago.
Alabama-Huntsville senior Jeniffer Cherono is a four-time GSC Runner of the Week honoree, while two-time winner, Arkansas Tech freshman Cheryl Nolan, is the top newcomer.
MEN’S RACE PREVIEW
Harding is favored to three-peat on the men’s side, entering the event with a USTFCCCA No. 10 national ranking and a No. 1 South Region spot. HU will be challenged by five other regionally ranked squads: No. 3 West Florida, No. 5 West Alabama, No. 6 Alabama-Huntsville, No. 7 Christian Brothers and No. 10 West Georgia.
Individually, this year’s field includes 16 of last year’s Top 20 runners, led by eight Top 10 standouts. The top five returns led by two-time defending Individual Champion, HU’s Daniel Kirwa. Kirwa seeks to become the just the second three-time champion and the first-ever runner to take three straight crowns.
The Bisons also return last year’s runner-up, Philip Biwott and fifth-place Manase Busienei. UAH’s Josh Mosier and HSU’s Gabriel Ghioca finished third and fourth, respectively. UNA’s Hirbo Hirbo and Harding’s Wojciech Kopec should also challenge for the top spot after each collected GSC Runner of the Week awards twice this season.
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