University of Tennessee Athletics
XC Squads Set For Louisville Classic
October 01, 2015 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee men's and women's cross country teams will be in action on Saturday when they compete in the Greater Louisville Classic at E.P "Tom" Sawyer State Park.
This week's meet will mark the first of multiple trips to Louisville for both squads. UT is set to compete at the same course on Oct. 17 for Pre-Nationals. E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park is also the site of the 2015 NCAA Championships on Nov. 21.
The men's 8K is slated to start at 9:30 a.m. ET and the women's 5K will start at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Fans can follow the action via the USTFCCCA's "National Results Wall," which provides updates from schools' social media accounts.
All-American Chelsea Blaase is set to make her 2015 debut on Saturday after sitting out the Hokie Invite and Commodore Classic last month. In 2014, Blaase became the women's program's 10th All-American when she finished in 10th place at her first-ever NCAA Championships. She was UT's first All-American on the women's side since 2008 and the first to post a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships since 1989. Her stellar junior year featured PRs in the 5K (16:37.66) and 6K (19:26.20) and seven top-10 finishes (six top-3s) over seven 2014 races.
"She has definitely been in the competitive mindset for the last couple of weeks and very anxious to race," Tennessee Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "She is excited to have competition and excited to see what she can do. The women will run a 5K on this course, so it will be 1K shorter than national distance. But it's a great opener for her and a great opportunity to just jump into it and see what she's got this season."
Blaase took second at last year's Greater Louisville Classic with a time of 16:51.64.
Freshman Jessica Rizor was Tennessee's top finisher in the Hokie Invite (Sept. 4) and the Commodore Classic (Sept. 19). She, Abby McCulla, Emma Reed and Peighton Meske have all gained valuable experience over the first two races.
"We really are excited to continue to progress these squads forward," Sullivan said. "It's a learning curve for all of the freshmen and we're predominately freshmen. It's a learning curve of just running in big races, talented races and competitive races, positioning early, fighting hard at the finish and putting all the pieces together in a race."
The UT men ran their first complete race of the season two weeks ago at the Commodore Classic, finishing eighth. Seniors Kyle Walter (26th, 25:30.2) and Jack Little (35th, 25:44.1) led the way. Sullivan likes the way the men's squad is coming along with its mix of veterans performing well and rookies making strides.
"I think the men show a lot of potential," she said. "That's the exciting part with the guys. We've got some senior leadership out of Kyle Walter and Jack Little and they ran our 1-2 last time and I think they'll continue to progress on this course as well. They know this course well - I think they've raced on it every year of their careers. Then you throw in these young guys that are getting a little bit more confident, a little bit more secure and trusting themselves getting into mile four and mile five and then mile six. They're going to be very good at this."
