Sept. 14, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's and women's cross country teams travel to Nashville, Tenn., where the Knights will run against some tough competition at the Commodore Classic on Saturday morning. The men's race begins at 10 a.m. ET followed by the women at 11 a.m.
"We are looking forward to see how the team has progressed since last weekend," said Caryl Smith Gilbert, who is in her first season as head coach of the Knights' cross country and women's track and field programs. "We are going to be running against some very competitive teams from in our region and around the country. Our goal is to achieve more personal bests and move forward in our efforts as we look toward the conference meet."
During the past week, the Knights have worked on their race tactics and aerobic strength while also attempting to simulate race-day dynamics. The purpose of the training is to close the gap between runners and better UCF's overall showing.
Many teams in the Commodore Classic Field, including host Vanderbilt, Belmont, Georgia Tech and Missouri, are ranked in their respective regional polls by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association South Region (USTFCCCA).
Of course, so is UCF. Coming off their third-place finish at the Mountain Dew Invitational a week ago, the women's squad recently made the program's first appearance in the USTFCCCA South Region poll at No. 15.
The top seven Knights from the season opener make the trip to Tennessee. Last weekend, junior and No. 1 runner Jamie Rzepecki (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora HS) was one of several within the UCF pack that posted a personal-best time, finishing the 5K course in 18:34.37. Also, earning personal records were senior Elizabeth Miller (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek HS) and sophomore Erica Weitz (Morganville, N.J./Marlboro HS).
Five men will represent UCF at the Commodore Classic. Leading the pack is senior Paul Nielsen (Oviedo HS), who was two seconds short of his personal record at 26:18.70, while sophomore Daniel Conn (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic HS) bettered his own personal beast with a time of 26:25.67.
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