Deacs to Compete at Pre-Nationals on Saturday

10/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country

Oct. 13, 2017

By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeTrack)

NCAA Division I Pre-Nationals Invitational
Pre-Nationals Invitational	Saturday, Oct. 14
Location	Louisvilly, Ky. (E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park) Facility Info \| Weather
Men	Men's Red Seeded 8k - 10 a.m. \| Men's Black Unseeded 8k - 11:30 a.m.
Women	Women's Red 6k - 10:45 a.m. \| Women's Black Unseeded 6k - 12:15 p.m.
Information	Race Assignments
Coverage	FloTrack Brodcast (Subscription Required) \| Live Results \| @WakeTrack

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Twelve members of the men's and women's cross country team are set to compete at the adidas Pre-National Cross Country Meet on Saturday, Oct. 14 at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

Serving as a preview for the upcoming NCAA Championships at the site, 51 men's and 54 women's squads will compete in four races on Saturday. The day opens at 10 a.m. with the men's seeded 8k race followed by the women's seeded 6k race at 10:45 a.m. The remaining runners will compete in unseeded races at 11:30 a.m. for the men and 12:15 p.m. for the women.

The Deacs will compete alongside fellow ACC schools in Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt and Virginia Tech in preparation for the ACC Championships held Oct. 27.

Cate Allen, Hannah Brookover, Anna Campbell, Sam Halvorsen, Eliza Lukens-Day, Mimi Smith and Kathryn Kenwood will represent the Demon Deacons in the Women's Red Seeded 6k.

"This will be a good chance for our women to gain more experience at a high-level meet," said women's head coach Michelle Chewens. "They are eager to prove their fitness is higher than indicated two weeks ago at the Paul Short Run."

Five men will be competing on Saturday with four in the Men's Black Seeded 8k and one in the Men's Black Unseeded 8k. Freshman Jack Tiernan will be making his cross country debut this weekend while freshmen Mitchell Day and William Hunsdale will be running in their second collegiate meet. Sebastian Fischbach will round out the seeded competition while Robert Heppenstall will race in the unseeded event.

"Three out of four men racing in the seeded race on Saturday have a total of two collegiate races under their belt so we thought it was necessary to get them a little more experience," said head coach John Hayes. "Rob Heppenstall, our All-American 800m runner, will compete in the unseeded race for us. We chose to leave most of our runners at home this weekend due to illness leading to some inconsistent training. By leaving them at home to train hard, it allows us one or two additional sessions prior to the ACC Championships."

Last time out, the men finished ninth and the women took 14th at the Paul Short Run on Sept. 29. Day paced the men with his 29th-place finish while Samantha Halvorsen led the women and finished 30th.

Up next, the Deacs return to Louisville and E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park for the ACC Championships held Oct. 27.

Expected Entries
Women
Cate Allen
Hannah Brookover
Anna Campbell
Samantha Halvorsen
Eliza Lukens-Day
Mimi Smith
Kathryn Kenwood

Men
Mitchell Day
Sebastian Fischbach
Robert Heppenstall
William Hunsdale
Jack Tiernan