Troy University Athletics
Trojans Head to Crimson Classic
9/16/2009 5:00:00 AM | Cross Country
TROY, Ala. - The Troy University cross country teams will get a good look this weekend at their regional competition, and they will also get their first taste of running late in the afternoon, as they participate in the 21st annual Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa on Friday night.
The Trojans, who run most of their meets early in the morning, should be up to the task by listening to the training regime set forth by distance coach Stephane Hetherington.
"We have not altered our training in the slightest," he said. "During our cool-down we did some modifications to simulate more an 8K effort which is what we need to be prepared for. We stuck to our schedule for the morning after the race, and completed an important long run with some of the men and women running up to 15 miles.
"The Crimson Classic will be our only competition held in the evening so later this week, we'll shift our practice time to match that of the race. Most of the team has been doing afternoon runs on the days where they run twice so I don't expect the transition will affect us."
After a strong showing two weeks ago, on a shorter course in which the Trojans second on both the men's and women's side, Hetherington is excited to see what his team can do against some of the best the region has to offer.
"Both the men and women have come off of the Trojan Invitational very well," he said. "The tough weekend seems to have paid off as those who might have felt sluggish and tired for the first race are now really starting to look stronger and stronger."
The Trojans must prepare for the longer distance on both sides. The men ran just a 5K race at the Trojan Invitational two weeks ago, and now they must prepare for an 8K race this Friday night in Tuscaloosa. Not only will they be running a longer race, but they will be facing some stiff competition. The women must prepare for a longer race as well, as they ran just 3200 meters two weeks ago.
Troy will be able to get a good look at teams they will be competing against in the regional that will be run on the same course in November. They will be running against teams such as 10th-ranked Alabama and 13th-ranked Auburn on the men's side; as well as SEC members LSU and Tennessee.
On the men's side, Alabama is the top-ranked team in the South Region; followed closely by Auburn at number two. Tennessee is ranked sixth in the region, while East Tennessee State is 10th, followed by Belmont at 11th and Chattanooga at 12th.
On the women's side, Tennessee is the highest ranked team in the meet as they are third in the South Region poll. They are followed closely by Auburn in fourth, Alabama in seventh, Chattanooga in 12th, Belmont at 14th and Georgia Tech at 15th.
Although there are highly-ranked teams in the region running this week, Hetherington sees it as a chance to prepare for the conference and regional meets later this season.
"The entire team will get a close up look at not only the competion we will be facing come Regionals, but the course as well," he said. "The regional meet is being held at Alabama, so this race is beneficial to get ahead. Hopefully competing against teams from our conference and our region will spark some rivalries that will help to keep the ball rolling as we progress in training. We look to to being in the same race as teams like Alabama and Auburn as they are some of the better teams in the country."
Other teams running this week include Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Huntingdon, Jackson State, Kennesaw State, Mississippi Valley State, North Alabama, Samford and Stillman.
