University of Houston Athletics
Cross Country Reaches Halfway Mark In 2007 Schedule
9/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 26, 2007
HOUSTON - The newly regionally ranked No. 12 University of Houston men's cross country team will be joining the women and 13 other teams at the 7th Annual Islander Splash Friday, Sept. 28 in the West Guth Park in Corpus Christi, Texas. The men will start at 11:00 a.m. and be led by Andrew Stover on the three-mile course, while the women will look to Oumama Hallal at the 11:20 a.m. start to guide them through two miles.
"This will be a meet for the women to get more racing experience," head coach Ryan Turner said, "and learn how to compete better. We'll also be leaving Stephen (Magness), Daniel (Martinez) and Ahmed (Harb) in Houston to recover and rest up for the bigger upcoming meets."
Leaving behind the top three men for the Islander Classic this weekend will allow Andrew Stover, the number four runner, to lead Houston. On the women's side the entire team will be racing to help them gain more experience.
"It's important to give these runners as much experience as possible." Turner said. "If you don't practice racing, you're not going to be good at it. The more practice we can get them the better we'll become as a team."
The course itself will be a challenge for the team with the track running up and down a 50M incline throughout the race, but could play to some of the runners abilities.
"Kelcee Keenan is a good, tough runner," said Turner. "I think she'll emerge as one of the top female runners because she's capable of handling a course like that."
Overall the race will be used as a developmental race, helping the team to increase their racing abilities, and learn how to compete better.
