Wake Forest Prepares for ACC Championships
10/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 30, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest is set to run in the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Saturday, October 31, at the WakeMed Soccer Park Course in Cary, N.C. Hosted by NC State, the men's 8-kilometer race is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women's 6K at 10:30 a.m.
Running for the women's team will be: Cate Berenato, Marley Burns, Suzie Clinchy, Caitlin Crawford, Whitney Curry, Casey Fowler, Claire Hagler, Allison Homer, Anna Nosenko, Dina Nosenko and Kim Vos.
Up front for the Deacs this season, the 1-2-3 combination has been Anna Nosenko, Dina Nosenko and Burns. Other people have been stepping from the women's team to round out the scoring for Wake Forest, such as Crawford, Curry and Fowler. Fowler is slated to race this weekend after suffering an injury during the Indiana State Pre-Nationals race.
After struggling at Pre-Nationals, the women's team fell to 12th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region poll. However, the team is prepared for Saturday's competition.
"I feel like we're getting better each week. Our training has definitely been better than our complete team has raced yet but for some reason I'm feeling a lot of energy this week," head coach Annie Bennett said at Wednesday's practice.
On the men's team, Marcus Dillon, Garret Drogosch, Tom Finneran, Jeremy Fisico, Sam Foster, Jake Graham, Howard Graves, Devin Huizenga, Paul Loeser, Keaton Morgan and Ben Morrow are expected to run.
More than half of the runners competing will be true freshmen. One of these freshmen is Westlake Village, Calif., native Garret Drogosch. He has made an immediate impact on the team this year, pacing the Deacons in three meets this season.
The men's team has been able to finish in a pack separated by merely seconds multiple times this season and Coach Bennett looks for that again on Saturday.
"We're excited because we feel like we can run ten. We feel like our one through six [runners] are very strong. They have been working together everyday," Bennett stated. "It's one of those things that pretty much every week they've gotten better so it's exciting to see what else we have in these last few meets."
See photos and race day information at TheACC.com's cross country site. WakeForestSports.com also will post the complete results.
Top Nationally-Ranked Teams Competing Saturday
There will be four nationally-ranked squads competing in both the men's and the women's races on Saturday. For the men, Virginia comes in as the favorite, ranked 12th in the nation. No. 21 Florida State, No. 26 Duke and No. 30 NC State also boast nationally-ranked teams. In the women's race, No. 6 Florida State, No. 11 Virginia, No. 16 Duke and No. 28 North Carolina will be featured. Wake Forest, receiving national votes through much of the season, comes into the ACCs ranked 12th in the Southeast Region. Last year, the Wake Forest women were ranked 25th coming into ACCs and No. 1 in the region.
Returning to Race and a New Face
Senior Marcus Dillon is scheduled to race for the first time all season after recovering from a stress fracture. Dillon is no stranger to the ACC Championships, having competed in them as a freshman and sophomore. Running in the ACCs for the first time will be freshman Allison Homer. Homer has been sidelined much of her freshman season but looks to come in and make an immediate impact for the women's team. The Blacksburg, Va., native has raced at the WakeMed Soccer Course before in high school but this will be her first-ever time competing in a meet as a Demon Deacon.
At the 2008 ACC Championships
The women's squad finished 3rd with 112 points at the ACC Championships hosted by North Carolina last year. Allie Kieffer earned All-ACC accolades with a 12th-place finish and Anna Nosenko was 16th overall en route to being selected ACC Freshman of the Year. Dina Nosenko and Marley Burns also placed in the top 25 to help lead the Deacons to their highest ACC place since 2005. Susan Kuijken of Florida State won the individual title for the second straight year. Kuijken will be trying for her third consecutive title on Saturday. For the Wake Forest men, the team placed 11th with 342 points. Greg Billington led the Deacons for the second consecutive time at the ACCs with a 25:43.1 and a 38th-overall finish in the 8K. Plagued by injuries, the men's finish marked the lowest-ever by a Wake Forest men's cross country team at ACCs. The men's team looks to rebound this year with a young and talented squad, as well as some now-healthy veteran leaders scheduled to race.
Wake Forest's Recent ACC Finishes
Women
2008: 3rd
2007: 7th
2006: 8th
2005: 3rd
2004: 4th
2003: 3rd
2002: 1st
2001: 6th
2000: 3rd
Men
2008: 11th
2007: 7th
2006: 9th
2005: 4th
2004: 6th
2003: 5th
2002: 8th
2001: 2nd
2000: 4th
Players Mentioned
