The University of Akron Athletics
Cross Country Heads to Terre Haute, Ind., for Pre Nationals Invitational
October 17 | Cross Country
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Pre Nationals Invitational Central | Directions To LaVern Gibson Championship Course
Men's Entries (PDF) | Women's Entries (PDF)
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's and women's cross country teams will compete in their final competition before next month's Mid-American Conference Championships on Saturday when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Pre Nationals Invitational.
Hosted by Indiana State, the Pre National Invitational takes place on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, the same course that will play host to the 2014 NCAA Division I National Championship meet on Nov. 22.
The field features 79 men's and 79 women's teams from across the country, including four of the top 10 women's teams from the 2013 NCAA Championships, as well as the defending men's national champion from last year.
The men's squad will compete in the Blue Division beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET, with the race covering 8,000 meters. The Blue Division features a 43-team field, including the top-two teams in the nation – No. 1 Colorado and No. 2 Oregon – as well as seven top-30 teams in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll.
The Akron men look to improve on last year's showing as the squad placed 45th among a challenging 52-team field that also featured 12 teams ranked among the nation's top 30. Headlining that group was then-defending NCAA Champion Oklahoma State, No. 2 Colorado and No. 4 Oregon. Brad Hough was Akron's top finisher, crossing the line in 164th place.
The women's team will compete in the White Division, which will begin at 12:15 p.m. ET and will compete at a distance of 6,000 meters. The 39-team field includes four MAC foes, as well as four of the top-15 teams in the Great Lakes Region (as of Oct. 7).
At last year's Pre Nationals Invitational, the women finished 18th out of 35 squads with 472 points. Kayla Whitlow, who is coming off a strong showing at the All-Ohio Championships on Oct. 3, was the top finisher for the Zips last year (38th).
Last time out, the men's team repeated as All-Ohio Champions while the women's squad finished in seventh place on Oct. 3 in Cedarville, Ohio.
The men repeated as All-Ohio Champion for the first time in school history, winning the event by 31 points with a total of 53 points. All five scoring runners finished inside the top-22.
Kyle Cochrun and Clayton Murphy, two key parts in last year's All-Ohio Championship team, finished in fourth and fifth, respectively. Cochrun crossed the line in the men's 8K in a time of 24:52.97 while Murphy posted a time of 24:58.06.
The women saw a two-spot improvement from last year, posting a score of 226 to finish in seventh place in the women's 6K.
Whitlow had a strong performance for the Zips, finishing in seventh place with a time of 22:28.76.
Irene Frangos crossed the line in 49th place after posting a time of 23:17.94, while Marisa Papp finished two spots behind Frangos in 51st place (23:21.59).
