Sept. 12, 2008

MEMPHIS – The University of Kentucky cross country squads open their season at the Memphis Twilight Classic hosted by Christian Brothers University at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex Saturday evening.

The Wildcat women kick off the collegiate portion of the event with a 5K race at 8:40 p.m. CT. The UK men close the meet running an 8K course with a 9:20 p.m. CT start.

“Unlike prior years, our season opener is now two weeks later,” said UK assistant coach John Mortimer. “Our men and women have had three solid weeks of training and they are prepared to race.”

The Twilight Classic features several regional teams joining Kentucky such as Arkansas State, Eastern Kentucky, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Southern Miss and Tulane as well as the west coast’s San Jose State.

The UK women’s team is paced by 2007 All-Southeast Region seniors Andrea Halasek and Jessica Ortman. The duo led the team to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Louisville last fall.

“Having returned six out of our top seven from last year and after a strong summer of training, our top women look to be even better than they were in 2007,” Mortimer said.

Adam Henken, part of the All-SEC Freshman Second Team a year ago, carries the banner for the Wildcat men along with seniors Bruce Hordusky and Chris Long. The men’s team is young with increased depth for the upcoming campaign.

“As a team, the men have more depth than last year and there has been significant improvement from our top athletes up front,” Mortimer added.

Meet results and a complete UK recap will be available this weekend on UKathletics.com.