EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana women's cross country team begins the championship portion of its schedule Saturday at the GLVC Championships in Somers, Wisconsin. The women's 6k race begins at 11:30 a.m., while the men's 8k race is at 10:30 a.m.
USI is seeking its third consecutive GLVC title and sixth in the history of the program. The Screaming Eagles, currently ranked 14th by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, are coming off a first-place finish at the Fast Cats Classic three weeks ago in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Head Coach
Mike Hillyard does not believe the long layoff will be an issue for his team and feels their preparation has them peaking at the right time.
Juniors
Jackie Henderson and
Adrienne Curtis along with sophomore
Lauren Minor are expected to lead the pack for the Eagles. Curtis was USI's top finisher at the Fast Cats Classic, while Henderson paced the Eagles in their season-opener. Minor has been in the Eagles' top three during the last two meets.
The Eagles will need a strong team effort to bring home another GLVC Championship. Hillyard thinks that if the team can run together throughout the duration of the race and his top five runners have similar split times to their performance at the Fast Cats Classic – where they had five runners in the top seven – USI will be in position to extend its streak of conference titles.
“Heading into the GLVC Championships last year, we knew we really only had worry about scoring four girls,” Hillyard explained. “This year is definitely a different look; we don't have a huge frontrunner like a
Mary Ballinger. However, our one through five split and our one through seven has been very good.
“Our last meet at the Fast Cats Classic in Owensboro we split 12 to 13 seconds, one through five,” Hillyard continued. “If you are good at the front, which we are, that's a pretty good number to put up.”
The women's cross country team returns to action November 20 at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.
