Men's Cross Country Opens Season at Belmont Invitational
9/2/2004 12:00:00 AM
 |
|
The University of Alabama men’s cross country team will open the 2004 season at the Belmont Invitational on Friday, a meet they’ve met with much success over the past couple seasons.
“I like it as an opening meet,” said coach Joe Walker. “It’s a good, little, challenging course. It’s 5k, which is fast for us, and it’s a shorter distance, so the guys can really attack it.”
The Crimson Tide has won the meet the last two years and while Walker expects his team to go for the victory again, he’s looking forward to seeing how the team responds to its first dose of competition this year.
“I want to see them compete, is the main thing,” commented Walker. “I know how they look in practice but I want to see how they respond in competition. A lot of guys can look great in workouts but they don’t race that way. There are other guys, you’re wondering about them in workouts and then every time a competition rolls around they show up to compete.”
Walker will look to his top three returnees, Peter Etoot, Alex Korir and 2003 All-South Region performer Kevin McDonough to help lead the Tide to its third consecutive Belmont Invitational win.
The race is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee.
