Guilford Set to Host South Regional
Races Set for Saturday in Greensboro
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- The region's top
small-college distance runners are headed to Guilford College this
weekend for the running of the NCAA Division III South/Southeast
Regional Championships. Representatives from 36 women's teams and
32 men's squads from Virginia to Texas compete this Saturday
(11/14) on Guilford's Meadows Course for berths in the Division III
National Championship. The women's six-kilometer race begins at
11:00 a.m. and is followed by the men's eight-kilometer event at
noon.
The women's field includes two teams ranked among the top-35 squads
in the current U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches'
Association (USTFCCA) Division III National Rankings, as well as
all 10 squads in the USTFCAA South/Southeast Poll. Rhodes College,
ranked 29th in the nation and first in the region,
boasts sophomore Taylor Stephens, who garnered All-America honors
in 2008 with a 35th-place finish at the national
championships. She won the 2008 South/Southeast Regional meet, the
second of her three college titles in her career. Emory University,
ranked 35th in the national poll and second in the
region, has two team titles to its credit this season. Junior Jenny
Feinberg set the Meadows Course six-kilometer record (23:15.68)
Oct. 17 when she led the Eagles to the Quaker Invitational team
title.
Emory's men's squad enters the regional meet ranked 13th
in the USTFCCA national rankings and first in the region. The
Eagles have two titles among six top-three team finishes in as many
meets this year. Senior Charlie Meade, a 2008 All-American, earned
First Team All-University Athletic Association honors with a
third-place finish at the UAA Championships Oct. 31. Teammate Tommy
Fyffe, a Second Team All-UAA honoree, won the 2009 Foothills
Invitational and the season-opening Sewanee Invitational.
Lynchburg College senior Ricky Flynn, who captured his third
straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference crown Oct. 31, joins
Stephens and Meade as returning All-Americans. He placed
14th at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
The top-two teams from both women's and men's regional meets
automatically advance to the national championship in Cleveland,
Ohio, Nov. 21. The third-, fourth- and fifth-place regional
finishers are eligible for at-large berths into the 32-team
national championships field. In addition, the top-seven
individuals at the regional meets advance to the national
championships. All seven members of the two automatic qualifiers
will be removed from the results and the remaining individuals not
on a qualifying team will be renumbered to determine individual
national qualifiers.
The South/Southeast Regional is one of eight sites across the
nation hosting men's and women's races Saturday. The weekend
officially begins Friday, Nov. 13 with a 6:00 p.m. dinner on
Guilford's campus featuring a presentation by 1964 United States
Olympic gold medal-winning distance runner Billy Mills. The event
is open to the public and tickets costing $15 per person in advance
($20 at the door) can be purchased through Guilford's Track and
Field Office at 336-734-3009 or casonw@guilford.edu.
The regional meet Web site is: http://www.guilford.edu/sports/XC/NCAA/2009-index.htm.
It contains meet specific information including entrant lists,
course maps and other information.
This release is courtesy of the Guilford College sports
information department.
