The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Cross Country preview: NCAA South Central Regional
11.13.2009 | XC: Men_Old, Track & Field / Cross Country
Nov. 13, 2009
Location: Waco, Texas
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14
Course: Cottonwood Creek Golf Course
Distance: 10K
2008 Champion: Texas A&M (39 points), Texas finished 4th (112 points)
Results: www.baylorbears.com
Expected Participants:
Habben Berhane
Bradley Lowry
Brian Rhodes-Devey
Austin Roth
Brock Simmons
Rory Tunningley
Rob Wetzel
Last year's race: Texas A&M earned a first-place finish at the 2008 South Central Region Championship with 39 points followed by Arkansas (44 points) and Lamar (74 points). The Texas men finished fourth with 112 points.
Previewing the 2009 South Central Region Championship: The Team's Perspective
Coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship, the Texas men's cross country team understands it still has goals to accomplish. Although the team has turned in strong performances throughout the season, each member of the team recognizes that as the number of races left shrinks, the stakes become amplified.
Saturday in Waco, Texas, the Longhorn men will compete in a 10K race at the South Central Region Championship in an attempt to clinch a berth to the NCAA Championships. In order to secure an automatic berth to nationals, a team must finish in either first or second place of its regional.
"The goal is obviously top two," assistant coach John Hayes said of the Regional Championship. "That allows us to achieve another goal and get to nationals."
In his fourth season with the Texas cross country team, Habben Berhane hopes to help the team make its way back to the national stage after missing the event in 2008. The senior understands the goals of the team and feels confident in the Longhorns' ability to accomplish them.
"Understanding every concept by every step has made me and the rest of the team more confident in what we're doing," Berhane said. "This point last year, everyone was sort of adjusting. Now, I can definitely tell that everyone is confident in their abilities, where they're capable of placing, how they can run, because of those minute steps and all of those goals we've achieved."
"I'm pumped (about the Regional Championship) and I'm confident that we're going to show up on Saturday. I think if we run how we're capable of running, we should be able to make it to the national championships."
Because the regional and national meet are 10K races instead of 8Ks like the conference championship, the team has spent the season preparing for this distance. Coach Hayes has done his best to ensure that the team is primed for the longer course.
"From the get go, we've been doing a lot more strength oriented workouts geared more toward 10K," Berhane said. "I remember even after the (8K) Big 12 race looking at coach knowing I raced it a little conservatively. I had a lot of energy left. Coach told me that was what I'd need next week."
Sophomore Rory Tunningley has a simple plan for the first 10K race of the season.
"You have to make sure you don't go out too fast," Tunningley said. "Make sure your head is in the game and make sure you don't get over your head too early. You just have to stay smart."
After not making the national meet as a team last season, Coach Hayes feels an excitement to make up for last year. He knows his team is ready to redeem itself.
"They've been excited for this for the last 365 days," Hayes said. "Last year was a very humbling experience for us. We vowed as a team to never let that happen again. We're a far more fit team, a far more motivated team. These guys are incredibly excited. I'm incredibly excited. I don't know that I've ever had a team that was better prepared going into a regional championship."