JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—The Carson-Newman cross country team looks to carry momentum picked up from the South Atlantic Conference Championships two weeks ago into Saturday morning's Southeast Regional Championships in Montevallo, Ala. to conclude the season.
"We are feeling pretty good about the weekend and excited to go down and run at Montevallo," coach Tyler Stepp said. "It's supposed to be a pretty fast course and of course we are excited to compete against the best in the region. We are optimistic to see how we will step up and compete with the best in our area."
Three different conferences will be represented at the championships as athletes from the Peach Belt, Conference Carolinas and SAC will all be present. A season ago at the 2015 Southeast Regional Championships, Mount Olive took home the crown on the men's side while Montevallo claimed first-place honors for the women.
Wingate, Mars Hill and Queens have represented the SAC with wins on both the men and women's side in the past seven years.
Saturday's running course will feature a 10-kilometer run for the men beginning at 9 a.m. and a six-kilometer race for the women following right after at 10:15 a.m. on the campus of Montevallo.
"On the women's side, we expect about what we have had all year which is everyone running and working together," Stepp said. "Hopefully we will have a solid finish."
For the men, the 10k will be the longest run of the year to date for the squad.
"As for the men, it is the same kind of deal. We have a couple of new faces that will compete like Kaleb Yates who missed out on the SAC Championships," Stepp said. "That will be huge for us. We are hoping that Luke [Greer] and Amos [Korir] will have big days and put on a show. Those two are usually our top-two and as always, Anthony Jackson will be solid. This will be Alec Bross's last cross country meet, so we are hoping he will go out with a bang."
The Falcons of Montevallo sport impress clubs on both sides as the women look to claim their third-consecutive Southeast Regional championship. The men are recently coming off a program-best second-place finish at the Peach Belt Conference Championships two weeks ago.
As for Carson-Newman in its conference championships, the men finished eighth-overall while the women took home the fifth-place prize. Hannah Green (Talbott, Tenn.) continued to pace the Eagles on the women's side finishing with a time of 20:28.5 in the 5k while Luke Greer (Abington, United Kingdom) came in first on the team for the men with a 27:25.0 time in the 8k.
Last season in the 2015 Southeast Regional Championships, the Eagles concluded the event with a 12th-place showing from the women and an 18th-place tally from the men. Green tallied a Carson-Newman best on the day for the women.
"We might not have anybody advance into the next round, but we certainly believe that we will make some gains that will propel us into tracks season" Stepp said. "We are really looking forward to it and are excited to compete once again."
A complete recap of Saturday's events can be found online at cneagles.com.
-CN-