The Pittsburg State University men's cross country team will make its third straight appearance in the NCAA Division II National Championships Saturday.
The Gorillas will traveled to Evansville, Ind., Thursday in preparation for the 10-kilometer race, which will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday on the campus of the University of Southern Indiana.
Pitt State, which qualified to the national meet with a third-place effort at the South Central Regional on Nov. 7, is seeking to record the school's highest finish at nationals this weekend. The Gorillas, who placed 17th overall in 2007 and tied for 17th a year ago, must finish 14th or higher in the 24-team field to accomplish that goal.
"We believe that's an attainable goal," said PSU head coach Russ Jewett of an all-time top team performance. "I've studied the field very hard and I think if we can race out of our minds we'll be capable of finishing 11th or 12th. We could race poorly and end up 18th or 19th though. There will be a narrow margin for success."
The Gorillas will send a veteran seven-man cast to the national meet, including seniors MJ Hassaballa, Cliff Miles and Tim Testa. Jewett feels that each of his top three runners could challenge for All-America honors by placing among the top 40 individuals in the meet.
Miles led the Gorillas with a 57th-place showing at the 2008 championships, while Hassaballa placed 69th overall in the meet at Slippery Rock, Pa.
Testa and Hassaballa each earned All-Region honors two weeks ago, placing sixth (31:39) and seventh (31:43) in the South Central Regional at Abilene, Texas, while Miles placed 17th overall in the meet (32:17).
"I think each of those three guys have a chance at individuals honors, but we won't go up there with that type of goal in mind," Jewett said. "We won't sacrifice team efforts for individual honors, but if we go about it right we can enjoy team and individual successes."
That said, Jewett feels like his team his healthy and ready for the challenges of the hilly course at USI.
"We raced well as a team at conference and regionals when the chips were on the line," Jewett said. "I think we can race well on Saturday. There will be so many more good runners in this meet. There will be a lot of body density as well as parity in talent. We'll have to be careful not to get suffocated in traffic early. Our team will need to focus on the things that yield success - that is be smart in the first couple miles, then attack in the middle and to the finish line."
Freshman Adam Volkert, sophomore Matt Haffner, junior Brad Jochems and senior John VanGundy round out Pitt State's seven-man squad.
|
|
|
The Pittsburg State University men's cross country team will make its third straight appearance in the NCAA Division II National Championships Saturday.
The Gorillas will traveled to Evansville, Ind., Thursday in preparation for the 10-kilometer race, which will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday on the campus of the University of Southern Indiana.
Pitt State, which qualified to the national meet with a third-place effort at the South Central Regional on Nov. 7, is seeking to record the school's highest finish at nationals this weekend. The Gorillas, who placed 17th overall in 2007 and tied for 17th a year ago, must finish 14th or higher in the 24-team field to accomplish that goal.
"We believe that's an attainable goal," said PSU head coach Russ Jewett of an all-time top team performance. "I've studied the field very hard and I think if we can race out of our minds we'll be capable of finishing 11th or 12th. We could race poorly and end up 18th or 19th though. There will be a narrow margin for success."
The Gorillas will send a veteran seven-man cast to the national meet, including seniors MJ Hassaballa, Cliff Miles and Tim Testa. Jewett feels that each of his top three runners could challenge for All-America honors by placing among the top 40 individuals in the meet.
Miles led the Gorillas with a 57th-place showing at the 2008 championships, while Hassaballa placed 69th overall in the meet at Slippery Rock, Pa.
Testa and Hassaballa each earned All-Region honors two weeks ago, placing sixth (31:39) and seventh (31:43) in the South Central Regional at Abilene, Texas, while Miles placed 17th overall in the meet (32:17).
"I think each of those three guys have a chance at individuals honors, but we won't go up there with that type of goal in mind," Jewett said. "We won't sacrifice team efforts for individual honors, but if we go about it right we can enjoy team and individual successes."
That said, Jewett feels like his team his healthy and ready for the challenges of the hilly course at USI.
"We raced well as a team at conference and regionals when the chips were on the line," Jewett said. "I think we can race well on Saturday. There will be so many more good runners in this meet. There will be a lot of body density as well as parity in talent. We'll have to be careful not to get suffocated in traffic early. Our team will need to focus on the things that yield success - that is be smart in the first couple miles, then attack in the middle and to the finish line."
Freshman Adam Volkert, sophomore Matt Haffner, junior Brad Jochems and senior John VanGundy round out Pitt State's seven-man squad.
