Cross Country Readies for Rice Race
9/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 15, 2010
HOUSTON - The University of Houston cross country team returns to the course after a week off of competition for the Justin F. Cooper Memorial Rice Invitational on Friday.
After opening the season at home on Sept. 3, the Cougars did not compete last week while preparing for their last race in Houston this fall. The early break actually came at a good time for head coach Ryan Turner's men's team.
"After the home race, we had some guys come up with a few nagging injuries, nothing serious just some aches and pains here and there," Turner said. "Having that week off was good for some of our guys to get some rest without that pressure of having to compete hard every day at practice and maybe take a day to rest a little bit."
Ranked 12th in the South Central Region, the men's team finished third behind Lamar and Rice at the Johnny Morriss UH Invitational two weeks ago. Junior Nate Pineda led his team with a third-place finish to cap off a strong performance through the entire race. A late, determined push propelled sophomore David Smith to eighth place, putting two Cougars in the top 10.
The women had an even stronger showing, placing second behind a regional top-five team in the Texas Longhorns. Sophomore Kathryn Ducommun battled her way to eighth as the Longhorns grabbed six of the top eight spots. The ladies enter the meet ranked No. 11 in the South Central Region.
According to Turner, Friday's race is set to be larger than Rice's previous meets. This one will include several new teams but similar competition to what both teams faced at the Johnny Morriss UH Invitational. However, the women's side will see a significant difference as the nationally ranked Rice women will take part. They did not race in Houston's meet.
"It will have a similar feel to our meet," Turner said. "The Rice women will add another degree of difficulty for our females as Rice is ranked No. 29 in the nation. There will be some challenging competition, but our girls are up to the task. They are excited about it."
Turner does not anticipate many lineup changes for Friday, but will be especially cautious with his men's team that appreciated the added rest time last week.
"There's not as much pressure for us to run fast right now as there is at the end of the season," Turner said. "So there is no need to push someone with a slight injury to race now, when I could rest them so they will be stronger and more ready later in the season."
The women's race is set for 6:50 p.m. and the men are slated to run at 7:15 p.m. The course is located just off of Rice Boulevard between Sunset/Main and Greenbriar. Parking is located in the lot directly east of the football stadium.
Players Mentioned
