Cross country teams each open against 11th ranked Hoosiers Saturday at Indiana Open
The Tennessee Tech cross country teams open the 2015 schedule Saturday at the Indiana Open, where the Golden Eagles go up against two Hoosier teams each ranked 11th in the nation in the preseason
By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Running up hills is nothing unusual for cross country runners, but starting off a race straight up one of the steepest hills around is a pretty tall order.
The course may not feature a rise at the starting line, but for the Tennessee Tech men's and women's cross country teams, the schedule opens with a formidable challenge at the starting gun.
Coach Wayne Angel's teams open the 2015 schedule Saturday at the Indiana Open, where the Golden Eagles go up against two Hoosier teams each ranked 11th in the nation in the preseason.
"We've prepared as well as we could for this meet," said Angel. "We've run a lot of hills and tempo, and we hope we'll be competitive. This will be a great learning experience, and we hope we can improve on our performance of last year at Indiana."
A year ago, Indiana easily won both the men's and women's races, and the Hoosiers bring two extremely strong teams into this year's event. The Hoosier men placed 15th at the NCAA meet last year, while the IU women are looking to establish themselves as a national contender, too.
Tennessee Tech is making strides in that direction, with the Golden Eagle men earning a preseason ranking of 14th in the South Region. The Tech men were picked for fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference while the Golden Eagle women are tabbed for seventh.
The women will run a 5K circuit on the Indiana Cross Country Course, with the starting shot fired at 9:20 a.m. The men's 8K will follow at 10:10 a.m.
The Tech men's team figures to be led by Geoffrey Sambu, an all-region performer for the Golden Eagles a year ago. Sambu set the school record last year at 8K at 24:28, and finished his first year at Tech owning four of the 11 fastest times in school history.
"Geoffrey is looking to reach the national championship meet this year after just missing it last year," Angel said. "He spent some time rehabbing from an injury, and now I think he's back and better than ever."
Amos Kipchirchir, a freshman from Eldoret, Kenya, will push Sambu in his first season on the roster.
"Amos is a very young student-athlete with unlimited potential," Angel said. "He's a fluid runner, and he reminds me of Sambu when he first started here. He has a lot of strength and he's still young and developing. I think he will surprise people."
Angel added that Daniel Williamson, a junior from Union City, Tenn., could be the most improved runner on the roster.
"Daniel has put in a lot of work over the summer, and he's really a new and improved runner," Angel said. "He will really impact how we do in the conference."
Angel said his other two freshmen aren't quite where he wants them to be in their development, stating that Noah Rotich and Timothy Misoy, both from Eldoret, Kenya, have some ground to make up on the team's leaders.
"They didn't arrive on campus in the condition they needed to be, and I think some of that is due to going through the process of getting here," Angel said. "They missed a lot of training and didn't come as fit as I would have liked them."
The women's team has a pair of outstanding newcomers -- junior Sarah Brandt and freshman Jenna Storms -- who Angels expects to lead the way.
"Sarah is a phenomenal runner and she has the potential to challenge every distance record at Tech before she's finished," Angel said. He called the Butte College veteran from Oroville, Calif., a real leader.
Storms, meanwhile, was the third-best distance runner in California high school ranks and is a two-time National Junior Olympics cross country All-American. She hails from Cottonwood, Calif., and ran at West Valley High School.
Lera McNamara, a sophomore from Canton, Ga., figures to be the top returning runner.
"Lera is much-improved over the summer," Angel said. "She's done a lot of running and swimming and I'm inspired by how much hard work she has put in/ She is determined to really make a difference, and I appreciate that."
Two newcomers and two runners who competed in track but not in cross country last season are projected to round out Tech's lineup. Back are Madison Stremler from Franklin, Tenn., and Sonel Bezuidenhout, from Pretoria, South Africa. Both ran middle distances during the spring but will be making their cross country debut Saturday. The newcomers are junior Purity Murray from Eldoret, Kenya, and freshman Andrea Retano from Culver, Ore.
