The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
2010 Cross Country Preview
9/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 14, 2010
With eight veteran runners leading the pack, the UAB cross country team is poised for a strong 2010 campaign, which kicks off Friday at the Mountaineer Open hosted by Appalachian State.
Blazer head coach Blake Boldon's squad is looking to build upon last season's success, which included taking the title at the Earl Jacoby Memorial and a strong finish at the NCAA South Regional.
"We're taking a different approach this year and not racing until later in September," Boldon said. "We learned that there is not a direct correlation between who runs well in September and who runs well in November."
Another difference in the Blazer schedule this season is that the team will participate in two meets in the Birmingham area. UAB will compete at the Southeast Cross Country Showdown on Oct. 9 and the NCAA South Regional on Nov. 13, both of which will be held at Veterans Park in Hoover.
"We are really excited that the NCAA South Regional is in Hoover," Boldon said. "Our girls rarely have an opportunity to sleep in their own beds and compete in front of a home crowd. We hope to have two strong races, especially at the regional meet."
2010 Squad
Returning all but two contributing runners from last year's team, the 2010 Blazers are full of experience with eight runners boasting at least two seasons in the Green and Gold.
"I think any program would be lucky to have this group," Boldon said. "The good thing about our team is that we have five people who can run at the national level."
Those five runners include senior Stephanie Gammon and juniors Rhiannon Johns, Colleen Standridge, Kristina Vaughn and Clara Cid.
Last season, Johns claimed the title at the Earl Jacoby Memorial 5k before missing two meets due to injury. During the track and field season, she qualified for the preliminary round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, took the 10,000-meter title at the C-USA Outdoor Championships and owned the second-fastest 10,000-meter time (34:40.30) in the region.
"Rhiannon Johns is training by herself right now and is incredibly fit," Boldon said. "She is well ahead of where she was at any point last fall, perhaps even through March and April."
Gammon is back in action after sitting out half of last season due to injury. Gammon, who received all-conference and all-region honors as a sophomore, finished as the runner-up at the Earl Jacoby Memorial and was named a 2009-10 C-USA Scholar Athlete Award winner.
Strandridge and Vaughn competed in all six races for the Blazers last season, while Cid ran in five. Standridge, a Palatine, Ill., product finished 19th at the league meet after running a personal-best 5k time of 19:06.50.
Also returning for the Blazers are Lauren Fayen, Bianca Le'Blanc, and Lucy Taylor. All three progressed during the track and field seasons with Taylor and Fayen each breaking a school record during the indoor and outdoor seasons, respectively. Le'Blanc received all-conference honors at the league outoor meet and qualified for the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
"Both Bianca and Lucy have developed a lot in the area of their aerobic depth and strength for cross country," Boldon said. "They will have a positive impact on the team this season."
The Green and Gold also will feature three newcomers this fall. Freshmen Elin Andersson, Amanda Horton and Emily Trotter will bring fresh talent to the Blazer squad. Andersson, a Lund, Sweden, native, brings a lot of experience to UAB after competing at the 2009 Swedish National Championships, Swedish Junior National Championships and the Nordic Under-20 Championships.
Trotter notched third-place finishes in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter events at the 2010 Alabama State Track & Field meet.
"Emily is the type of student-athlete that we want to build our program around," Boldon said. "She has come a long way since last fall and is training very well. I think that she is going to continue to progress all the way to the conference meet."
2010 Schedule
UAB's 2010 slate features six meets, including two that are local. The season kicks off on Sept. 17 at the Mountaineer Open in Boone, N.C.
The Blazers continue their fall schedule at the Memphis Twilight Classic 5K hosted in Nashville, Tenn. on Sept. 25.
"In my opinion, Memphis is the premiere cross-country meet in the Southeast," Boldon said. "It's a meet that is as competitive as you'll find, and this year, it falls on the first weekend that teams can begin collecting quality points for nationals. We are going to try to go and compete really hard."
The Green and Gold will return home and take a week off before the Southeast Cross Country Showdown hosted by Samford on Oct. 9 at Veterans Park in Hoover, Ala. The following weekend, UAB competes at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival on Oct. 16 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Prior to the regional meet, the Blazers will run at the Conference USA Championships hosted by Tulsa on Oct. 30.
"We have three teams in our conference that are ranked in the top 30 in the country in the preseason poll, so we'll know where we are in relation to some of the best teams in the country on that day," Boldon said. "If we can keep everyone healthy and headed in the right direction, we'll be right with any of those ranked teams."
The NCAA South Regional will be held at Veterans Park on Nov. 13, and the NCAA Championships are slated for Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Players Mentioned
