Liberty XC Set for Big South Preview
10/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Meet Information
Women's 5K Course Map
Men's 8K Course Map
Milliken Center Information
Spartanburg Weather
The Liberty men's and women's cross country teams will be in action for the second straight week, competing in Saturday's Upstate Invitational/Big South Preview at the Milliken Center in Spartanburg, S.C.
The women's 5K will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the men's 8K at 9:45. The races will be contested at the Milliken Center, site of the 2015 Big South Cross Country Championships.
Weather Report
Saturday's weather forecast for Spartanburg, which is somewhat contingent on the forecasted track of Hurricane Joaquin, calls for significant rainfall and wind and a temperature around 60 degrees.
Scouting the Competition
Saturday's meet will provide a nice preview of the 2015 Big South Cross Country Championships, which will take place on Oct. 31 at the same facility. Every Big South cross country team is entered in the Upstate Invitational/Big South Preview except for Longwood.
Liberty got its first look at several of its top Big South rivals at last Saturday's Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational. In the men's race, Campbell placed fifth, Liberty and High Point shared ninth place and Radford came in 14th. The women's standings featured Coastal Carolina in seventh place, Liberty and High Point in a tie for 11th and Radford in the 15th spot.
Appalachian State, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech and the North Florida women's team are four other notable squads slated to compete in Spartanburg on Saturday. Appalachian State ranks No. 6 in the Southeast Region for women's cross country and No. 13 in the region for men's cross country. Georgia Tech sits No. 7 in the South Region for men's cross country and No. 11 for women's cross country. Meanwhile, the North Florida and FGCU women's squads currently check in at No. 12 and No. 13, respectively, in the South Region.
Checking Out the Course
Liberty has never competed at the Milliken Center. Based upon the results of last year's Upstate Invitational, the course is not overly fast. Only four women broke 18 minutes for the 5K and only one man broke 25 minutes for the 5K in 2014.
A Sign of Things to Come?
In each of the last four seasons, the same men's and women's teams who have finished first at the Big South preview meet have gone on to win the conference title later in the year.
Record Breaker
Freshman Ednah Kurgat has enjoyed an impressive start to her collegiate cross country career. After winning the women's race at the UVa Duals, Kurgat placed seventh overall at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational last Saturday in a 5K time of 17:11.1. That effort eclipsed the previous Liberty women's cross country 5K record of 17:18.72, set by Jennifer Klugh at the 2012 Big South Cross Country Championships in Rock Hill, S.C.
Another Fantastic Freshman
Like the women's squad, the Liberty men's cross country team boasts a talented freshman from Eldoret, Kenya in Azaria Kirwa. He was the men's runner-up at the UVa Duals and placed a team-best 28th at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational. That ranked third among all freshmen in the race.
Teammates Once Again
A year ago, Anna Van Wyk and Aryn Embretson were teammates on the Eagan High School cross country team, helping the Wildcats place eighth at the Minnesota Class AA state meet.
This fall, Van Wyk and Embretson are two members of the Liberty women's cross country team's deep, talented freshman class. At the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational, Van Wyk placed third for the Lady Flames and 78th overall. Embretson served as Liberty's No. 5 runner, crossing the line in 90th place.
Other freshmen who have served as top-five runners for the Lady Flames already this season include Ednah Kurgat, Elizabeth Mulford and Torree Scull.
Climbing the Chart
After finishing in a tie for ninth place at the highly competitive Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational, the Liberty men's squad climbed from 15th to a season-high ninth in this week's USTFCCCA Southeast Region rankings.
