Wake Forest to Race at Upstate Invitational on Saturday
10/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
By Scott Wortman, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeTrack)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's and women's cross country teams will continue on their path towards postseason competition when the Demon Deacons race at the Upstate Invitational on Saturday in Spartanburg, S.C.
The women's 5k race is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with the men's 8k race to follow at 9:30 a.m.
Wake Forest will be racing on back-to-back weekends as the Deacon men and women look establish their top seven runners, respectively, with an eye towards the ACC Championships on Oct. 31.
"Although we generally don't like to compete two weeks in a row, we felt this would be an opportunity to get on a flat, fast course much different from last week's at Virginia," said Wake Forest head coach John Millar. "This will give our men especially an opportunity to run a quality race and get used to running at a faster tempo than over the hilly course we were on last week."
The Deacons competed at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational last Friday in Earlysville, Va.--site of the upcoming ACC Championships. The Wake Forest women took third overall, putting Samantha Jones (5th) and Cate Allen (10th) in the top 10 individually. The Wake Forest men finished ninth among a competitive field of teams.
With meets scheduled on four consecutive weekends, the Deacons will mix up their lineups tomorrow in Spartanburg and next week at the Royals Challenge in Charlotte.
"We are going to rest our top five runners this week and let those ladies who have not competed regularly have the opportunity to race among themselves, as we search for our sixth and seventh runner," said Millar. "I will be anxious to watch Ashley Brubaker and Chandler Borton this week, as they have been limited this fall."
Competing for the women team's tomorrow will be Brubaker, Borton, Sarah Fahmy, Kathryn Lazarchick, Gabrielle Merritt and recent addition Tara Richardson, who is a graduate transfer from Western State Colorado University.
The men's team will trot out its normal lineup with 12 Deacons set to compete on Saturday.
"This will be our final opportunity to establish our top seven going into the ACC meet, as we intend to rest this group next weekend," said Millar. "It will be important for individuals such as Jacob Poyner, Kent Garrett and Alexander Rose to lead the group and get comfortable among the lead group in the race this week, as they have certainly established themselves as the leaders in practice and competition so far this fall.
"I think Connor Crowley is ready for a break-through meet as well, and we have a number of guys who can be slotted into the 4-7 position. Hopefully, this is the type of meet that will give our guys some confidence as we begin our final phase of training prior to the conference meet."
Both the Wake Forest men's and women's squads moved up in the Southeast Region rankings this past week. The women are fifth in the region, while the men are ranked 11th.
Following the Upstate Invitational, the Deacons will compete at the Royals Challenge, hosted by Queens University Charlotte on Oct. 11 in Charlotte, N.C.
Players Mentioned
