Oct. 27, 2004
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's and women's cross country teams will face a field of 13 schools at Saturday's Conference USA Championships hosted by DePaul University at the Palos Hills Forest Preserve in Palos Hills, Ill. The meet, which will be the first conference championship for the Cardinals under the direction of first-year U of L head coach Ron Mann, will begin with the women's 6,000-meter race at 11:30 a.m. ET followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 12:30 p.m.
The Cardinal men's team, which finished third in 2003 behind Marquette and Cincinnati, enter Saturday's conference meet having won four out of five events in 2004. U of L has been led throughout the season by freshman Wesley Korir and sophomore Nurani Sheikh. Korir has four individual titles in his first collegiate season in cross country, while Sheikh led the way for the Cards in their most recent meet at the Pre-Nationals on Oct. 16 in Terre Haute, Ind. U of L sophomore Wes Seacat and junior Tim Kaiser also return for the Cards after each of them posted Top-15 finishes in 2003, including a third-place finish by Seacat.
"Marquette, the defending conference champs and a perennial power, and Cincinnati are both very good again this season after finishing first and second in 2003," said Mann. "After a third-place finish last year, our goal for 2004 is to equal or improve upon that. If we're fortunate enough to do that, then that'll be a wonderful finish for our program.
"Hopefully, with a little luck and a good race plan, we can be right in the middle of contention for the title in the men's race."
The U of L women's team enters Saturday's race with a five-runner lineup for the first time since the Commodore Invitational on Sept. 11 after sophomore Holly Geers was limited to running shorter distances while recovering from injury. The Cardinals are led by junior Ashley Ruberg and senior Corryn McCrae. Ruberg was U of L's top finisher in their first four events, while McCrae was the Cards' top runner at the Pre-Nationals.
"Our women's program is in a bit of a rebuilding phase right now, but all of our athletes are doing a great job under the current circumstances," Mann said. "We'll be represented at Saturday's meet and I expect all of women's athletes to give their best effort."
Following Saturday's C-USA Championships, East Carolina University will host the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 13 in Greenville, N.C., one of nine regional championships leading up the NCAA Championships set for Monday, Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.
