GOLDEN SUNS RELEASE ITS 2009 CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech University Head Cross Country Coach Tom Aspel announced his team’s 2009 schedule on Thursday.

Aspel, who is entering his 15th season at the helm of the Golden Suns Cross Country program, has his team running in six meets before the Gulf South Championships on Oct. 24 at Veteran’s Park in Hoover, Ala. Last season, Tech finished third in the GSC Championships and had a school-best fourth-place finish at the NCAA South Regional, which was held in Searcy, Ark.

Tech, who returns five of its top seven runners from a year ago, including junior Lauren Karnitz (DeSoto, Kan.) and senior Melissa Pollreis (Gravette, Ark.), who were both First-Team All-GSC selections, will open the season on Aug. 28 by hosting the third-annual Tech Twilight Run at 6:30 p.m. The twilight run will be a two-mile event that will run around perimeter of the Tech campus. The meet will begin and end at Tucker Coliseum.

“We’re excited to once again host our own home meet,” Aspel said. “This meet will be a good way for us and the other teams competing in the meet to open the season.”

Following the Tech Twilight Run, the Golden Suns will compete at the Brooks/Memphis Twilight Meet, which is hosted by Christian Brothers University, on Sept. 5. Two weekends later on Sept. 19, Tech will compete at the Missouri Southern Stampede in Joplin, Mo, before closing out the month of September at the UALR Invitational at the Rebsaman Golf Course in Little Rock on Sept. 26.

“The Missouri Southern Stampede is one of the better meets in the region every season,” Aspel said.  

Tech will open the month of October by competing on Oct. 10 at the Harding Bison Stampede Meet in Searcy, Ark. Following the Bison Stampede, Tech will conclude its regular season on Oct. 17 at the 17th-annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Chile Pepper Invitational is one of the premier cross country meets in the country as it features some of the nation’s top-ranked teams from NCAA Division I.

“The Bison Stampede will give us a chance to run against some of the teams we will see at our conference meet later in the month, while the Chile Pepper meet should be a very good test for our team heading into the GSC Championships,” the Tech coach added.

The Golden Suns will then compete at the 2009 GSC Championships on Oct. 24 in Hoover, Ala. After the GSC Meet, Tech will compete at the NCAA D-II South Regional Meet on Nov. 7 in Tampa, Fla. The 2009 cross country season will conclude on Nov. 21 at the NCAA Division II National Championship Meet in Evansville, Ind. The top four teams and the top four individuals not from the top four teams at regionals qualify for the NCAA Championship Meet. 

2009 ARKANSAS TECH CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE

AUGUST

28 (Fri)      Tech Twilight Run (2 milles)             Russellville           6:30 p.m.

SEPTEMBER

5 (Sat)        at Brooks/Memphis Twilight (5K)          Memphis, Tenn.     8:30 p.m.

19 (Sat)      at Missouri Southern Stampede (5K)    Joplin, Mo.             9:30 a.m.

26 (Sat)      at UALR Invitational (5K)                      Little Rock, Ark.     8:30 a.m.

OCTOBER

10 (Sat)      at Harding Bison Stampede (5K)          Searcy, Ark.           8:30 a.m.

17 (Sat)      at Chile Pepper Invitational (6K)           Fayetteville, Ark.    8:30 a.m.

24 (Sat)      at GSC Championships (5K)                 Hoover, Ala.          8:30 a.m.

NOVEMBER

7 (Sat)        NCAA Division II South Regional (6K)    Tampa, Fla.           8:30 a.m.

21 (Fri)        NCAA Division II Championships (6K)   Evansville, Ind.       TBA

All times listed are Central and subject to change

Home meets are indicated in BOLD

           -- Tech Athletics --