Head Coach Brad Herbster and the Niners face some of the best on Friday in Cary. |
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Niners Face National Competition at Great American on Friday
Sept. 30, 2004
Charlotte, NC - The Charlotte cross country teams travel to Cary, NC on Friday, where they will face stiff national-level competition at the Great American Cross Country Festival.
The 49ers will face some of the most elite talent in the country at the meet, which features a variety of races at skill levels stretching from high school to top-tier Division I programs. The women will compete in the Nike Race of Champions, scheduled to go off at 4:45 pm. The men's Race of Champions begins at 5:15 pm.
"This is an opportunity to see how we stack up on both the men's and women's side nationally", head coach Brad Herbster said. "This is the deepest we have been on both sides since I have been here, and we need to race well to prove we belong at these events."
The Niner men will compete in the 8k Nike Race of Champions against many nationally-regarded programs. Michigan, ranked sixth nationally in the latest USCCCA/Mondo NCAA cross country poll, headlines a deep field along with No. 8 North Carolina State. Also included are Central Michigan (18th), Georgia (23rd) and Northern Arizona (23rd), as well as Virginia, New Mexico, William & Mary, and Duke (each receiving votes).
The United States Cross Country Coaches Association recently ranked the Charlotte men's team 12th in their NCAA Southeast Poll.
The 49ers women's team, fresh off a victory at last weekend's Asics/Winthrop University Invitational in Rock Hill, SC, also faces a deep field in the 6k race at Great American. Brigham Young is ranked third nationally, with one first-place vote, in the latest Finish Lynx/Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association Division I poll. N.C. State (5th) and North Carolina (9th) also rank among the national top ten, while Duke is rated 18th. Northern Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Virginia all received votes in the NICCCA poll.
The National Scholastic Sports Foundation, which presents the Great American Cross Country Festival, has returned the 2004 event to the SAS Soccer Park cross country facility. The Foundation has made a commitment to keeping the meet at Cary's SAS Soccer Park permanently.
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