JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—The Carson-Newman cross country team will look to build upon a good showing at the South Atlantic Conference Meet two weeks ago, as the team will travel to Wingate, N.C. for the Southeastern Regional Meet on Saturday for the conclusion of the 2015 season.
"This is one of those meets that takes a lot of progression throughout the whole season just to get here," coach Tony Parrilla said. "We have a couple of people who have the opportunity to make it to Nationals, so their season might be extended, but hopefully the whole team does."
The meet will showcase over 40 schools from the region, as the women will take off at 10:30 am in the six-kilometer run and the men will begin an hour later while running the 10-kilometer race. The 10K will be the longest race of the season for the Eagles, as Carson-Newman's longest run to date was an 8K in previous meets this year.
"For the ladies to run a 6K and the men to run a 10K, we have had to sharpen up our 5K's and sharpen up our 8K's," Parrilla said. "We are ready to just go ahead and peak here."
Parrilla believes that the running course will work in the team's favor when they line up behind the start line on Saturday morning. Challenging training and tough courses the Eagles have endured throughout the duration of the season has set them up for Saturday's obstacle.
"It's going to be a lot better of a course for us," Parrilla said. "I think working on the farm over here [Green Farm] really helps us with this one and has helped us to get to where we are at right now. This course will be a long and fast one. We just have to trust our training, adrenalin and guts."
Parrilla understands the trials that a full season can have on his players, many of whom are battling through injuries heading into the weekend, but believes the team is in pretty good shape looking forward to the Regional Meet. An improvement from last year's showing is the expectation the coach is looking for, but the former Olympian believes his team will be competing and challenging the front runners at the tail end of the runs.
"I think we have peaked well," Parrilla said. "If we can improve on last year's performances that would be great, but I believe our girls can make a pretty significant jump."
A full recap of the Southeastern Regional Meet can be found on cneagles.com following the contest Saturday afternoon. Stay up to date with all Carson-Newman athletics by following us on Twitter at @CNathletics.
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