LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky cross country teams conclude their 2006 regular season on Saturday when they travel to San Luis Obispo, Calif., for the Cal Poly Invitational – the final tune-up for the Wildcats before the Southeastern Conference Championships in two weeks.
The race will take place at Fairbanks Memorial Cross Country Course on the campus of Cuesta College. The women?s 5K run begins at 12 p.m. ET, while the men?s 8K run is scheduled to commence at 12:30 p.m. ET. Complete meet and results information is available at www.runnercard.com. Last season, the host institution claimed the men?s race in the Cal Poly Invitational, while UC-Irvine won the women?s race.
s ?We are looking forward to going west and experiencing the opportunity to run against some very good teams,? said Pat Tyson, assistant coach for distance and cross country. ?We want to see ourselves compete at a level that will help us reach our goals at the SEC meet in two weeks. We want each of the runners on the men?s and women?s side to be within one minute of another. We want to close the gap and see some great team running. We want to be the best team that we can be based on our ability, and hopefully this trip west will provide a good test for us.?
Kentucky is coming off a strong showing at the Greater Louisville Classic, the largest cross country meet ever to take place in the Bluegrass State. The Wildcats had four runners place in the race?s top 20 to highlight a successful day against a tough field. The women?s squad, which had its top four runners finish within 23 seconds of one another, finished in fifth place as a team in the 5K race with a score of 163, while the men concluded the 8K race in sixth place with a 265. The Wildcats fared well against difficult competition that included 10 Division I men’s teams ranked among the top 10 in their regions and five regionally ranked women’s Division I teams.
The women?s squad, which finished fourth at last season?s SEC Championships, was picked to finish fifth this season. The Wildcats have shown good balance this season, as they have been led by a different person in each of their three races this season. Senior Georganne Way was the top runner at the Eastern Kentucky Invitational, sophomore Taylor Miller led the way for the Cats at the Old Timer?s Classic and sophomore Andrea Halasek was Kentucky?s top finisher at the Greater Louisville Classic.
The men?s team is being led by the one-two punch of senior John Richardson and junior Andre Silva. At the Greater Louisville Classic, Silva finished in 18th place with a time of 24:57, while Richardson followed in 19th place with a 24:59.
Complete results and a recap of the Cal Poly Invitational will be available on ukathletics.com.
