Sept. 30, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Coming off men’s and women’s team victories and a second-consecutive first-place finish from junior Luis Orta, the University of Kentucky cross country teams are headed to Louisville on Saturday for the Greater Louisville Classic held at E.P. ‘Tom’ Sawyer State Park.
The 10th annual Greater Louisville Classic will feature 23 men’s teams and 26 women’s squads. The men will be running an 8,000-meter course, while the women will compete on a 5K course. The men’s No. 1 race will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women’s No. 1 race at 10:15 a.m. The men’s No. 2 race will start at 10:45 a.m. and the women’s No. 2 race will begin at 11:30 a.m. Finally, the men’s No. 3 race will being at noon and the women’s No. 3 race will start at 12:30 p.m. All times are Eastern.
“We’re excited about racing in Louisville this weekend for the Greater Louisville Classic,” UK assistant coach Thomas Morgan said. “It will be the first opportunity this season to really test ourselves against a much bigger field with a really high level of competition. This meet will be more similar to a postseason race. Everyone’s looking good and heading in the right direction so we’re excited to see how it turns out.”
The E.P. ‘Tom’ Sawyer State Park in Louisville will once again host the NCAA Southeast Region in November. While the Wildcats have raced at the park before, including twice last season, Morgan said it’s always good to race at a location you’re already familiar with and a place that you hope to race at again in the postseason.
“Many of them raced at this park twice last year at regionals,” Morgan said. “But it’s good to get familiar with the course and see how you progress from year to year on the same course. The competition changes every year, but it’s good to have some similarities from season to season.”
The Wildcats have come out of the gates flying this year, with the men’s team capturing both the Belmont-VU Opener and Tennessee Invitational crowns. The women’s team also won the dual meet against Tennessee at the Tennessee Invitational.
Orta, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, will enter Saturday’s race following back-to-back first-place finishes to open the season. Orta has been named the Southeastern Conference Men’s Runner of the Week twice this year for his victories.
For more information, including post-meet results from the Greater Louisville Classic, go to UKathletics.com.
Greater Louisville Classic
E.P. ‘Tom’ Sawyer State Park
Louisville Ky. | Oct. 1, 2011
Race Times:
Men’s Race No. 1 (Gold Race): 9:30 a.m.
Women’s Race No. 1 (Gold Race): 10:15 a.m.
Men’s Race No. 2 (Blue Race): 10:45 a.m.
Women’s Race No. 2 (Blue Race): 11:30 a.m.
Men’s Race No. 3 (Silver Race): 12:00 p.m.
Women’s Race No. 3 (Silver Race): 12:30 p.m.
