Saturday, September 7
Abilene, Texas (Nelson Park)
8 a.m.
Abilene Christian
at
at McMurry / Bill Libby Invitational
Photo by: Steve Butman
Rebuilt cross country program begins 2013 season Saturday at Nelson Park
9/5/2013 3:09:00 PM | Cross Country
Southland Conference Cross Country | McMurry / Bill Libby Invitational Results Page
ABILENE – Abilene Christian's once-celebrated cross country program, which had fallen on hard times the previous two seasons, will begin the revitalization process Saturday when its men's and women's teams compete at Saturday's Bill Libby Invitational hosted by McMurry University and Grover Nelson Park.
The college women's 5K starts at 8 a.m., while the men's 8K will begin at 8:30 a.m.
The flat and fast, spectator friendly course, which is located adjacent to the Abilene Zoo and across from Shotwell Stadium, is 95 percent grass and encircles three small lakes and large ponds. There are also some pavement crossings and a two-mile outer loop that's used to ensure a correct distance.
Former Adams State all-America and new Wildcat assistant coach (distances) Drew Graham said this weekend's purpose is simply to see where everyone is at in terms of overall fitness.
"I want to see what our strengths are, to see who's fit and who may be out of shape," he said, "because with cross country sometimes you get a kid that's good in practice but can't do it on race day, and other times I've seen kids who are awful in practice and then been very good in a race."
More importantly, however, this race signals the start of a collective desire to re-establish ACU's excellence in cross country and distance running.
New head track and field coach Keith Barnier came to ACU this summer from Minnesota State-Moorhead and through his distinguished 26-year coaching career he has coached seven NCAA national champions, seven Olympic qualifiers and 109 all-America student-athletes. Graham then became one of Barnier's first hires, and even though the Newcastle, England, native is relatively new to coaching, he possesses a championship pedigree that includes three NCAA Division II team national titles, 15 all-America citations, two individual national championships in the outdoor 1500m, and one in the indoor mile.
Together, Barnier and Graham are working hard to bring the program back to when it was the region's winningest cross country club. The men's team won seven Southland Conference championships from 1964-70 and later added a staggering 26 Lone Star Conference crowns from 1980-2010 – this era also included consecutive NCAA D-II championships in 2006 and 2007. The women's team won its fair share of conference championships as well, collecting 15 titles from 1983-2007.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats could not extend their championship lineage past 2010. The men's team placed second at the 2011 LSC Championships, breaking a 20-year winning streak, while the women fell to fourth that year and ninth in 2012. The men placed seventh last year as each side consisted of seven runners.
Despite the frustrating team results and lack of regional and national appearances the past two seasons, the Wildcats received some tremendous individual performances from senior Chloe Susset and Alyse Goldsmith. Susset, who has one year of remaining cross country eligibility after missing all of 2012, won the 2011 regional title in 2011 (21:37.90) and placed 59th at nationals in Spokane, Wash. (22:55).
Susset was just as good during the 2013 track and field season as she earned all-America citations in the indoor mile (4:54.37) and outdoor 1500m (4:33.70). She also won another Lone Star Conference steeplechase title (10:54.05) and helped the Wildcats win their first and only indoor team title with points coming in the mile and distance medley relay.
Susset – along with upperclassmen Shayla Herndon and Greta Porisch – was one of three Wildcats welcomed back to the program by Graham and Barnier. The new coaching staff also worked tirelessly in its recruitment of 10 freshmen, who will bolster a roster that includes five returners from last year's team: Rachel Belcher, Kayla Calvert, Oksana Hays, Emily Hill and Mariah Welty-Kile.
Academic all-conference honorees Gary Duncan and Erik Forrister plus lettermen Christopher John and Taylor Ochs are the four returners on this year's men's team. They will be joined on the course by transfers Daniel Block, Chad Caton and Kip Kiplagat and high school recruits Jesse Coates, Barrett Corey and Reid Rivers.
A native of Canada and transfer from the University of Saskatchewan, Block specifically transferred to ACU to be part of its journalism and track and field programs. He is excited to race this weekend and see where the team is at this point in the season.
"We haven't been training that long (five days)," he said, "but I think both our men's and women's teams are good and strong. I'm looking forward to seeing this team grow and develop, and just see what we can do."
Graham views this week's event and next week's at Texas Tech as training meets since the team is off to a later-than-normal start in its preseason workouts.
"Because we started so late that if we peaked and tapered for these races we'd miss out on quite a bit of training … so we're going to train through these meets as if they're not even there on the schedule," he said. "The main thing for us is to get fit for the first of November meet against the Southland Conference. We're hoping to turn some heads there and make a big impact."
Before the Wildcats get to Lake Charles, La., for that all-important meet, they'll also be treated to some big-meet experience on Sept. 28 for the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree and Oct. 19 for the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind.
Graham plans to use the Incarnate Word Cardinal Invitational on Oct. 12 to determine who his teams will be at the conference race.
2013 Schedule
Sept. 7 at McMurry / Bill Libby Invitational (Abilene – Nelson Park)
Sept. 13 at Texas Tech Red Raider Open (Lubbock, Texas
Sept. 28 at Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree (Stillwater, Okla.)
Oct. 12 at Incarnate Word Cardinal Invitational (San Antonio, Texas)
Oct. 19 at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.)
Nov. 1 at Southland Conference Championships (Lake Charles, La.)
ABILENE – Abilene Christian's once-celebrated cross country program, which had fallen on hard times the previous two seasons, will begin the revitalization process Saturday when its men's and women's teams compete at Saturday's Bill Libby Invitational hosted by McMurry University and Grover Nelson Park.
The college women's 5K starts at 8 a.m., while the men's 8K will begin at 8:30 a.m.
The flat and fast, spectator friendly course, which is located adjacent to the Abilene Zoo and across from Shotwell Stadium, is 95 percent grass and encircles three small lakes and large ponds. There are also some pavement crossings and a two-mile outer loop that's used to ensure a correct distance.
Former Adams State all-America and new Wildcat assistant coach (distances) Drew Graham said this weekend's purpose is simply to see where everyone is at in terms of overall fitness.
"I want to see what our strengths are, to see who's fit and who may be out of shape," he said, "because with cross country sometimes you get a kid that's good in practice but can't do it on race day, and other times I've seen kids who are awful in practice and then been very good in a race."
More importantly, however, this race signals the start of a collective desire to re-establish ACU's excellence in cross country and distance running.
New head track and field coach Keith Barnier came to ACU this summer from Minnesota State-Moorhead and through his distinguished 26-year coaching career he has coached seven NCAA national champions, seven Olympic qualifiers and 109 all-America student-athletes. Graham then became one of Barnier's first hires, and even though the Newcastle, England, native is relatively new to coaching, he possesses a championship pedigree that includes three NCAA Division II team national titles, 15 all-America citations, two individual national championships in the outdoor 1500m, and one in the indoor mile.
Together, Barnier and Graham are working hard to bring the program back to when it was the region's winningest cross country club. The men's team won seven Southland Conference championships from 1964-70 and later added a staggering 26 Lone Star Conference crowns from 1980-2010 – this era also included consecutive NCAA D-II championships in 2006 and 2007. The women's team won its fair share of conference championships as well, collecting 15 titles from 1983-2007.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats could not extend their championship lineage past 2010. The men's team placed second at the 2011 LSC Championships, breaking a 20-year winning streak, while the women fell to fourth that year and ninth in 2012. The men placed seventh last year as each side consisted of seven runners.
Despite the frustrating team results and lack of regional and national appearances the past two seasons, the Wildcats received some tremendous individual performances from senior Chloe Susset and Alyse Goldsmith. Susset, who has one year of remaining cross country eligibility after missing all of 2012, won the 2011 regional title in 2011 (21:37.90) and placed 59th at nationals in Spokane, Wash. (22:55).
Susset was just as good during the 2013 track and field season as she earned all-America citations in the indoor mile (4:54.37) and outdoor 1500m (4:33.70). She also won another Lone Star Conference steeplechase title (10:54.05) and helped the Wildcats win their first and only indoor team title with points coming in the mile and distance medley relay.
Susset – along with upperclassmen Shayla Herndon and Greta Porisch – was one of three Wildcats welcomed back to the program by Graham and Barnier. The new coaching staff also worked tirelessly in its recruitment of 10 freshmen, who will bolster a roster that includes five returners from last year's team: Rachel Belcher, Kayla Calvert, Oksana Hays, Emily Hill and Mariah Welty-Kile.
Academic all-conference honorees Gary Duncan and Erik Forrister plus lettermen Christopher John and Taylor Ochs are the four returners on this year's men's team. They will be joined on the course by transfers Daniel Block, Chad Caton and Kip Kiplagat and high school recruits Jesse Coates, Barrett Corey and Reid Rivers.
A native of Canada and transfer from the University of Saskatchewan, Block specifically transferred to ACU to be part of its journalism and track and field programs. He is excited to race this weekend and see where the team is at this point in the season.
"We haven't been training that long (five days)," he said, "but I think both our men's and women's teams are good and strong. I'm looking forward to seeing this team grow and develop, and just see what we can do."
Graham views this week's event and next week's at Texas Tech as training meets since the team is off to a later-than-normal start in its preseason workouts.
"Because we started so late that if we peaked and tapered for these races we'd miss out on quite a bit of training … so we're going to train through these meets as if they're not even there on the schedule," he said. "The main thing for us is to get fit for the first of November meet against the Southland Conference. We're hoping to turn some heads there and make a big impact."
Before the Wildcats get to Lake Charles, La., for that all-important meet, they'll also be treated to some big-meet experience on Sept. 28 for the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree and Oct. 19 for the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind.
Graham plans to use the Incarnate Word Cardinal Invitational on Oct. 12 to determine who his teams will be at the conference race.
2013 Schedule
Sept. 7 at McMurry / Bill Libby Invitational (Abilene – Nelson Park)
Sept. 13 at Texas Tech Red Raider Open (Lubbock, Texas
Sept. 28 at Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree (Stillwater, Okla.)
Oct. 12 at Incarnate Word Cardinal Invitational (San Antonio, Texas)
Oct. 19 at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.)
Nov. 1 at Southland Conference Championships (Lake Charles, La.)
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