By Andrew Hornback
The 25th-ranked University of Louisville men’s cross-country team will host the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Redshirt senior Cory Thorne thinks that having the regional meet at home will be beneficial to the team. According to Thorne, the track and field team will be there to support them.
“We don’t have to travel, so our legs will be rested,” said Thorne. “And we won’t have to deal with flying, so that will be a plus for us. We’ve had some good workouts this week as a team, and if everyone runs well we have a great chance to make it out and finish in the top two.”
Thorne became the first athlete in U of L history to win an individual cross-country title in the Big East, by posting a time of 24:43.9 in the 8,000 meter race at the Big East championships. This time helped the Cardinals to a fourth place finish as a team.
“We could have done better as a team, but we will stay positive,” said Thorne. “We know what we are capable of. I think the weather affected us some. There were 32-degree wind chills and 20 mile an hour winds. But overall we did fine. Some guys really stepped up and ran well, just like in pre-nationals, but the course we were running on wasn’t really conducive to get into a rhythm.” While the weather for the Southeast Regional isn’t expected to be as brutal as it was at the Big East championships in Marquette, the expectations are just as high.
“We are excited to host the Southeast Regional, and very optimistic we are hosting it,” said head coach Brice Allen. “We feel it gives us a distinct advantage, and are really looking forward to hosting one of the toughest Regionals in the country.”
If the Cards are to advance out of the Southeast Regional, they will have to beat some very tough competition, including No. 8 William & Mary University, No. 16 North Carolina State University and No. 19 University of Virginia.
“I feel there are five teams on the men’s side that could advance to the national championship,” said Allen. “It’s a very strong region.”
The Cards’ performance at the Southeast Regional will determine whether they will compete in the NCAA Championships on Monday, Nov. 23 at nearby Indiana State University.
“We can control how we finish by how well we run,” said Thorne. “But there it’s just about having fun. We will have worked so hard up to that point, that while we want to win and do our best, we also want to have fun.”
The Southeast Regional will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14 at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. The men’s 10,000-meter race will start at 10 a.m., followed by the women’s 6,000-meter race at 11:15 a.m.
