MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama cross country teams will open up the 2018 season Friday afternoon when they compete at the Challenge of Champions meet held at Langan Park. The collegiate women's 5k is scheduled to start at 5:45 p.m., while the men's 5k event is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
The meet will be the first of two straight in-town events for the Jaguars as they will host the Azalea City Classic at Brookley Gulf Pines Golf Course next week (Sept. 7).
MEET INFORMATION
Date: 8/31
Meet (Host Institution): Challenge of Champions (Complete Sports Productions)
Place: Langan Park (Mobile, Ala.)
THE FIELD
WOMEN – 5K – 3 TEAMS
Mobile, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama
MEN – 5K – 3 TEAMS
Mobile, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama
AT THE LINE FOR THE JAGUARS
WOMEN – 5K
-Andonet Cheruiyot (So., Eldoret Kenya)
-Katelyn Cowie (So., Cullman, Ala.)
-Anna McGowan (Fr., Hoover, Ala.)
-Shaleiya Lee (Fr., Bradenton, Fla.)
-Silje Lindstad (Fr., Bergen, Hordaland, Norway)
-Lindsay Scifers (Fr., Euharlee, Ga.)
-Gillianne Sharp (Jr., Huntsville, Ala.)
-Olivia Swan (Sr., Daphne, Ala.)
-Cindy Von Ahlefeldt (Jr., Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa)
MEN – 5K
-Luke Fielding (Sr., Tauranga, New Zeland)
-Larry Lombard (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa)
-Dylan Pausic (Jr., Birmingham, Ala.)
-Nate Pudner (So. Auburn, Ala.)
-Thomas Sand Neilsen (Fr., Holstebro, Denmark)
-Korey Shively (Fr., Madison, Ala.)
NOTES
- The 2018 season marks the second under Cross Country Head Coach Parker Cowles.
- The Challenge of Champions meet will be the first of two straight in Mobile for the Jaguars as they will host the Azalea City Classic on Sept. 8.
- The South men return a pair of all-conference runners in sophomores Warno Potgieter and Migael Strydom, who each captured third-team honors in 2017.
- Fellow sophomore Carolien Millenaar also earned third-team all-league honors on the women's side at last season's Sun Belt Championship meet and on Wednesday was selected as one of the top seven runners in the Sun Belt Conference entering the 2018 season.
-The South Alabama women are ranked 12th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (UTSFCCCA) South Region preseason poll.
-Both the men and women were selected third in the SBC's preseason poll.
- Along with Millenaar, the Jags five other runners – Katelyn Cowie, Kailee Kiminski, Susanna Pudner, Gillianne Sharp and Cindy Von Ahlefeldt.
- South Alabama's men's squad returns Luke Fielding, Dylan Pausic, Nate Pudner, and Ben Rolader, in addition to Strydom and Potgieter, while also welcoming junior Larry Lombard who has been a member of the track and field team.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Parker Cowles
- On the opening meet: "This is a low key meet as we get ready for the season. We have a young team and I want to see the fitness and strengths of our newcomers and underclassmen. I am asking the athletes to experiment a little bit with their approach to this meet and hopefully we learn and gain some experience as we move into September."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub.
—USA—
