THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2007
SPORTS
CROSS COUNTRY
7B
Teams ready for weekend race
BY TYLER PASSMORE
tpassmore@kansan.com
The 'University of Kansas men's and women's cross country teams will head to Terre Haute, Ind., to compete in the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday. Both teams are coming off strong performances in the Roy Griak Invitational, almost two
Van Orsdel
weeks ago. With time off, the two teams should come out full throttle for teams' last tune-up for the Big 12 Championships.
With a trio of runners leading the men's team last time out, the Jayhawks want to build on their recent success. Senior All-Americans Colby Wissel and Paul Hefferon will have their last chance to run in a preparation event, while sophomore Bret Ingrund looks to continue his
successful season. At the Roy Griak Invitational, the Jayhawks finished with a decent-sized gap between
these three and their other runners, so freshman Nick Caprario and sophomore Dan Van Orsdel must place higher for the team to reach its potential
The women's team also had a strong finish in the Roy Griak
Harbert
Pre-Nationals
When: Saturday, Oct. 13.
Men at 10 a.m., Women at
11:20 a.m.
Where: NCAA Pre-Nationals In Terre Haute, Ind.
Next up: Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas, Oct 26
Invitational, with all its runners finishing closely. Seniors Hayley Harbert, Alicia McGregor and Lisa Morrisey will run in their last pre-nationals event, but the Jayhawks will need their youth to give them a boost. Sophomores Lauren Bonds and Allison Knoll have been impressive this year, and a strong finish from the two could result in a quality finish for the women.
The gun is set to sound for the men at 10 a.m. this weekend, with the women's race beginning shortly after at 11:20 a.m. This will be the two teams' last test before they head to the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 26 in Lubbock, Texas.
Club Crew Results
THE QUAD CITY REGATTA
SATURDAY, OCT. 6, MOLINE, ILL.
Race (team) — Finish
Men's Novice 4 (A-team) — 2nd
Mike Conner, Shawnee, Junior Greg Schleiffman, Washington, D.C., sophomore
Gabe Adams, Kansas City, Mo. junior
Victor Prechtel, Wichita, junior Hannah Davis, Liberty, Mo., sophomore
Men's Novice 4 (B-team) - 3rd
Brad Evans, Minnetonka, Minn. freshman
Keith Bertels, St. Marys, junior Neil Likens, Fort Worth, Texas, sophomore
Jovan Nedeljkovic, Serbia, junior Timothy Landwehr, Overland Park, freshman
Men's Novice 8-2nd
Brad Evans, Minnetonka, Minn,
freshman
Keith Bertels, St. Marys, junior Neil Likens, Overland Park, sophomore ludicrous than Appalachian State beating Michigan? Or 40-point underdog Stanford knocking off Stanford? Or South Florida being ranked No. 5 in the country?
more
Steele Reynolds, Olathe, freshman Jovan Nedelkovic, Serbia, junior Charlie Mullins, Denver, freshman Brady Greig, Olathe, sophomore Brian Matteson, Fort Worth, Texas, freshman
Timothy Landwehr, Overland Park freshman
Men's Varsity 4 - 3rd
Will Hecht, Lawrence, senior
Greg Schleifman, Washington, D.C.,
sophomore
Men's Varsity 8 - 2nd
Lane Jaafar, Mission, sophomore Jay Coffman, Baldwin, alumnus Hannah Davis, Liberty, Mo., sophomore
Will Hecht, Lawrence, senior Greg Schleifman, Washington, D.C. sophomore
Mike Conner, Shawnee, Junior Jay Coffman, Baldwin, alumnus Zane Jaafar, Mission, sophomore Gabe Adams, Kansas City, Mo., sophomore
sophomore
Jon Rogers, Overland Park, senior Frank Waugh, El Dorado, senior Hannah Davis, Liberty, Mo., sophomore
Jennifer Kunzler, St. Joseph, Mo,
alumna
Cassie Johnson, Shawnee, freshman
Zane Jaafar, Mission, sophomore
Will Hecht, Lawrence, senior
Jon Rogers, Overland Park, senior
Frank Waugh, El Dorado, senior
Kate Mawley, Dodge city, freshman
Sarah Harbert, Overland Park,
freshman
》 NCAA FOOTBALL
SEC teams refuse to give up
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia already has lost two Southeastern Conference games, and the season is only halfway done. So, that's it for the Bulldogs, right?
Hardly.
The SEC East is a microcosm of college football's wild, wild year, with standings that look all out of whack and each of the six teams already with at least one conference loss.
South Carolina, which has a grand total of one conference championship in football (and that was long before the Gamecocks joined the SEC), is holding down first place and is ranked No. 7 in the country. No.17 Kentucky is right in the thick of things, and it's not even basketball season yet.
Meanwhile, traditional football powerhouses Florida and Georgia already have two conference losses apiece, though that's not enough to knock them out of the race. Heck, they've got as good a shot as anyone else to be playing on that first Saturday of December at the SEC Championship game in Atlanta.
"Usually by now," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said, "it's down to a couple of teams."
Even perennial bring-up-the-rear Vanderbilt remains hopeful, knowing that its 1-2 record in the SEC puts the Commodores in about the same position as everyone else.
"The way the league is this year, you just never know." Vandy cornerback Myron Lewis said. "Two losses doesn't eliminate you. And since we haven't played anyone in the East yet, we still feel like we can do some things."
Before you go off on Lewis for failing to understand the realities of college football, such as Vanderbilt's last winning season coming a quarter-century ago, keep this in mind:
Would the Commodores contending for a conference title be any
"It's just not the way it was, with certain teams being a little bit better than most and certain teams not being as good as most," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "There's just a lot more equality out there. There's a lot of skilled guys who can make plays and a lot of coaches who know what they're doing."
One of those coaches is Steve Spurrier, who guided Florida to six SEC titles and one national championship during an era in which there was a lot more predictability to the standings.
The Gators dominated the East during the early half of the 1990s, Tennessee came on strong in the latter part of the decade, and Georgia became a perennial contender soon after Right took over in 2001.
Actually, it was Spurrier who helped to open things up a bit when he left for a mediocre stint with the NFLS Washington Redskins from 2002 to 2003. Florida dropped off during the fireronzoook.com era, and Georgia was the main beneficary.
Two years ago, Spurrier returned to the college game to coach South Carolina, which went through most of its history without winning a bowl game and captured its only championship as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1969.
Suddenly, the Gamecocks have the look of a contender. In just more than two years on the job, Spurrier has already beaten each of the "Big Three" — Florida, Tennessee and Georgia — and even started to needle some of his rivals, just like he did when he had those powerhouse teams down in the Swamp.
"We may have a chance at a big year," Spurrier said. "But right now, we feel pretty fortunate to be 5-1 starting the second half of this 12-game season."
He's wise to hedge his bets. While
the gamecocks lead the SEC East with a 3-1 conference record, their only loss coming in a competitive game at No. 1 LSU, there's a perilous three-week stretch remaining.
South Carolina travels to No. 25 Tennessee (3-2, 1-1) on Oct. 27, then goes to West Division rival Arkansas on Nov. 3, and finally returns home to face No. 13 Florida (4-2, 2-2) on Nov. 10.
The defending national champions have likely knocked themselves out of the race for No.1 with two straight losses. But the Gators certainly haven't given up on capturing another SEC East title, and possibly getting another crack at LSU after the Tigers edged Florida in a 28-24 thriller this past weekend.
"The older players, we did talk about that," Gators coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday evening. "I actually took a glance at it as well and saw that everyone has a loss. That tells you that every game is going to matter. It's single elimination, and it's exciting."
Florida has the week off before heading to Lexington to take on surprising Kentucky (5-1, 1-1), which had surged into the Top 10 before a sloppy loss at South Carolina last week.
Tim Tebow, the Gators' do-it-all quarterback, actually believes the Gators still have a chance at more than just an SEC East title, even with two losses.
"It's motivation. We're still in the race," he said. "And the way college football is going this season, if we finish out well, we might have a shot at everything."
Georgia (4-2, 2-2) isn't thinking about titles of any kind after an up- and down first half of the season.
The young Bulldogs must rebound from an embarrassing 35-14 loss at Tennessee when they hit the road again to take on Vanderbilt.
"It is kind of crazy," Georgia safety Reshad Jones said. "But it's a marathon. It's not where you start, it's where you finish."
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