A committed effort plus a solid performance should equal an improved finish. At least, that’s what the Mississippi State men’s and women’s cross country teams are counting on when they travel to Lexington, Ky., Saturday to race in the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championship meet.The cross country teams certainly do not need to possess the ability to perform any mathematical equations in Saturday’s races, but it is clear that the previously mentioned formula should pay dividends for both teams.
The men’s side placed sixth in last season’s conference-wide event, which was a finish the team was content with. This season, however, men’s head coach Steve Dudley said he expects the Bulldogs to perform even better.
“In every year since we started this program five years ago, we have wanted to improve in the conference meet every year,” Dudley said. “Last year we finished in sixth place, which is in the top half of the conference. This year we want to be in the top five schools.”
That goal certainly is not out of the question after the solid performance at the Pre-National Invitational on Oct. 13. In that race, the men’s team placed 22nd out of a field of 40 schools from around the country, including many nationally ranked teams. The Bulldogs will be hoping to carry the momentum they gained at the Pre-National Invitational to the SEC Championship meet. In Saturday’s race, each school is allowed to enter 10 runners into the competition, with each school’s top five runners going toward the school’s overall score.
The Bulldog runners will feature Jonathan Rono, Ben Blankenship, who led all Bulldog runners at the Pre-National Invitational, Ashenafi Arega, Michael Chapa, Robert Scribner, Matthew Cameron, Pad Judd, Andrew Prieshoff, Kyle Van Zile and Adam Lenz.
The Lady Bulldog team will also be presented with the opportunity to feature 10 runners in Saturday’s race. However, nagging injuries to some of the members on the team will prevent the team from doing so.
Despite those injuries, women’s head coach Al Schmidt will present eight runners from his squad in the meet. Those eight runners are Annie Falor, Simone Domingue, Sarah Hammes, Diamond Marks, Liz Grube, Abbey Graham and Brittany Detzel. Schmidt said he thinks those runners will give the team its best chance to obtain his goal for the meet, which is to finish in the top half of the conference.
“We will go the SEC meet with our best squad since the first meet,” Schmidt said. “We’re in a position where we have to perform.”
To achieve the goal of being in the top half of the conference at the meet, Schmidt said it will take a solid team finish. Like in the men’s race, the top five scores for each team will be used in the overall school scoring.
The Lady Bulldogs hope the return of fifth-year senior Liz Grube will boost their chances of success. Grube, who has had success in previous seasons, has been hampered by an injury this season and will be racing Saturday.
“[Liz] will be a real key to our success,” Schmidt said. “Hopefully she has one more big race in her.