Men's Cross Country Releases 2009 Schedule
7/21/2009 12:00:00 AM
July 21, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama men's cross country coach Joe Walker released the final schedule for the upcoming 2009 season on Tuesday with the squad's first meet being the Brooks Memphis Twilight on Sept. 5 in Memphis, Tenn.
"I think it's a very good schedule," Walker said. "It's one that presents a lot of challenges and yet will help prepare us for what we hope will be another trip to the NCAA Championships as a team. We open up with an evening meet at Memphis which will be a new experience for us going up there and then we get to host the Crimson Classic which we always enjoy."
Two weeks later, the team will host the 21st Annual Crimson Classic at the Harry Pritchett Golf Course in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Friday, Sept. 18. The Tide won last year's meet with a perfect score of 15 points by sweeping the top five places.
The squad will preview the site of the SEC Championships when it faces conference rival Ole Miss at the Ole Miss Invite on Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss.
The Crimson Tide will then travel across the country to race at the Bill Dellinger Invitational hosted by defending NCAA Champion Oregon on Oct. 2 in Eugene, Ore. in 2008, the squad posted a third place finish behind Oregon and Portland.
Before starting the championship portion of the schedule, Alabama will get a look at the NCAA Championship course in Terre Haute, Ind. while competing at Pre-Nationals on Oct. 17. The men claimed the title in 2008 defeating 10 of the top 30 ranked teams in the country.
As previously mentioned, the SEC Championships will be held in Oxford, Miss. on Oct. 31. The Crimson Tide will attempt to repeat as Champions after they took down 17-time defending SEC Champion Arkansas Razorbacks.
"We go to Terre Haute for Pre-Nationals and we'll take that experience of a huge field like nationals on the course where nationals are hosted," Walker said. "Then the SEC Championships will be in Oxford where I grew up so that will be fun competing there for an SEC title. It sets up for a tremendous schedule that it gives us a variety of different experiences and different fields."
Alabama will host the NCAA South Regional for the first time since 2004 when they finished eighth. Since then, the men have won three out of the last four titles including two straight (`05, '07 and `08).
"We'll come back home down the road when we host the Region Championships here in Tuscaloosa which I think will be great for the community and fans," Walker said. "It'll be a good chance for people to come out and see us against the best teams in the south. Prior to that though, the trip to Oregon is a tremendous experience for us and just being in that atmosphere. Typically we've run well there. Last year we were a close third to No. 1 and 2 in the nation at the time so we look forward to going back out and racing Oregon who will likely be preseason No. 1."
The NCAA Championships return to Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 23 where the Crimson Tide have finished sixth and tied for 10th in the past two seasons, respectively.
2009 Men's Cross Country Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Location |
| September 5 | Brooks Memphis Twilight | Memphis, Tenn. |
| September 18 | Crimson Classic | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| September 26 | Ole Miss Invite | Oxford, Miss. |
| October 2 | Bill Dellinger Invitational | Eugene, Ore. |
| October 17 | Pre-Nationals | Terre Haute, Ind. |
| October 31 | SEC Championships | Oxford, Miss. |
| November 14 | NCAA South Region Championships | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| November 23 | NCAA Championships | Terre Haute, Ind. |
