Mississippi State Faces SEC Opponents Saturday At Vanderbilt
Hoping to maintain its success, MSU will face its first SEC opponents of the year. Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee will be in attendance, including the nationally ranked Georgia men.
In Georgia, freshmen Fabienne Amrhein (22:37.31) and Cornelia Griesche (23:03.33) led the way for the Lady Bulldogs, finishing second and fifth, respectively, in the 6K.
"I am happy at where our freshman are," coach Houston Franks said. "The past meet was a learning experience for them. Most have only ever competed in 4Ks and 5Ks, but now they are running 6Ks, where they have already shown improvement."
The Bulldogs hope having a two-week break since the previous meet will be beneficial, as they begin their in-conference performance.
"We have had a lot of good workouts in the last two weeks," junior Chloe Phillips said. "We have been able to think about everything we did well at our first meet. We ran well as a team, and during these past weeks we have continued to stay strong as a team."
The men seek to continue showing off their hard work, after the team sealed its first place victory at Berry College with 36 points. Philip Johnson (26:26.50) seized the 8K top spot for the team in the season opener, while freshmen twins Andrew and Patrick Monaghan assisted in the win as well.
"Until the championship in November, we will strive to get better and better," Franks said. "This meet will be a true test for us, since we will be facing nationally ranked teams."
Action on Saturday will begin with the Men's Gold 8K Race at 9 a.m., followed by the Women's Gold 6K Race at 9:45 a.m.
Following their showing in Nashville, the teams will continue their campaign on Sept. 28 in South Bend, Ind., at the Norte Dame Invite.
