CLARKSVILLE - Austin Peay State University women's cross
country team will look to rebound from a sub-par performance a week ago when it
competes at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic hosted by the Greater
Louisville Sports Commission for the 11:45 a.m., Saturday, five-kilometer
women's blue race at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.
Freshman Xiamar Richards rebounded from a disappointing
finish at Western Kentucky to lead the Lady Govs at the Memphis Twilight,
cutting more than a minute off her five-kilometer time. Freshman Kendra Kirksey
also made a big move, finishing as the Lady Govs No. 2 runner while also
improving her five-kilometer time by more than a minute. However, Austin Peay
did not have the services of junior Janelle Avery who missed the Memphis meet,
leaving a significant gap in the team's front pack.
"We've talked about being very aggressive in our first
mile and keeping our two-mile split closer to the first mile time," said Austin
Peay head coach cross country Doug Molnar. "We will have Janelle Avery back
this week and she is really a stabilizing factor for our young runners led by
Xiamar Richards, Miranda Weed, and Kendra Kirksey. The other goal for us is to
close down the gap between our fourth and fifth runners and that will be on the
shoulders of Alyssa Molnar. She'll need to really work her second mile to
accomplish what we expect."
This meet will be the largest the women's team will
compete in this season with 107 teams from all levels of competition entered in
the event's three races. The Lady Govs are seeded into the day's second race
where they will meet 11 Division I opponents, including regionally-ranked
Illinois State (Midwest No. 12) and Ohio Valley Conference opponents Morehead
State and Southeast Missouri.
"This will be a good test as
there are some outstanding teams in the meet and a large field of more than
1000 women competing," said Molnar. "We'll have 40 teams in our race alone. It
will be something to see."
- AP -