Cross Country Heads to Sun Belt Championships

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee heads into the 2006 Johnny Carino's Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships in Little Rock, Ark., on a high note after solid team performances in the previous meets. Saturday's meet takes place at Rebsamen Golf Course and features 11 men's and women's team vying for a conference title. The women begin the competition with a 6K race at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 8K event at 11 a.m. The Middle Tennessee women were picked sixth and the men ninth in a vote of league coaches this week. The Blue Raider women are led by junior Marjorie Gombert and senior Sara Lunning, the top finishers for the squad in its five races this season. Gombert has finished in the Top 20 in the last four events this season while Lunning has placed in the Top 30 in her last four outings. "This is a very flat course and is usually very fast. There should be nice weather for the event and you can see the runners for almost the whole course," head coach Dean Hayes said. "The women have really stepped up and done well this season, especially Marjorie and Sara. And with the addition of [freshman Sangau] Zamzam, that gives us a solid three at the top." The women have been without its top two runners from last season, sophomores Ashley Comstock and Kaitlyn Hammond, who finished fifth and 11th, respectively, at last year's SBC Championships. But the squad has also seen the return of two other runners involved in last January's car accident, Tiffany Sawyer and Catherine Chester. "Tiffany and Catherine have both really improved and it's amazing they're even out there running everyday," Hayes said. "They have both run better times this year than at any point last year." The Blue Raider women finished third in the SBC Championships last year in Bowling Green, Ky., behind Comstock and Hammond. "We'd like to stay close to that third-place finish from last year, but it will be difficult without the top two runners. But we tend to bunch our girls together and if we can have bunches at the top and then in the middle, I think we'll do just fine." Middle Tennessee's men got a big boost a month ago with the addition of freshman William Songock, who has posted a pair of second-place finishes in his two events. His mark of 25:13.94 for 8K at the Greater Louisville Classic on September 30 was the fastest 8K time run by a Blue Raider since Geoffrey Lagat's winning mark at the 2000 Sun Belt Championships. Songock also posted a 5K time of 15:22 at the FrontRunner Invitational on October 14, faster than any 5K time ever run by Lagat in his Middle Tennessee career. "The addition of William has been a big plus for the men and hopefully will help us improve on our eighth-place finish from last year," Hayes said. "We are more solid at the back of the lineup than we were last year and that's what it takes in a team event like this. The fifth guy is just as important at the No. 1 guy." An awards ceremony will follow the men's race. Results for the meet will be posted at http://www.deltatiming.com/events/2007/sunbeltcc/index.htm. The broadcast of the event (which will be provided on-demand) will be available beginning October 31 and will be available for viewing with this subscription option through November 10. Go to http://www.sunbeltsports.org for ordering information. Predicted order of finish
MEN
1. South Alabama (11) 121 pts
2. Western Kentucky 106
3. Arkansas-Little Rock 97
4. North Texas 81
5. Florida International 70
6. Troy 53
7. Louisiana-Monroe 51
8. Arkansas State 50
9. Middle Tennessee 36
10. Louisiana-Lafayette 35
11. Florida Atlantic 26
WOMEN
1. Western Kentucky (5) 114 pts
2. Arkansas-Little Rock (5) 107
3. Florida International (1) 98
4. Florida Atlantic 81
5. North Texas 78
6. Middle Tennessee 60
7. Arkansas State 47
8. Louisiana-Monroe 44
9. South Alabama 39
10. Troy 31
11. Louisiana-Lafayette 27

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

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