Head coach Dan Waters said all he can ask of his runners is to go out and compete to their utmost this season. He expects nothing less as the Crimson Tide hosts the annual Crimson Classic at the Harry Pritchett Running Park Friday.
“They’ve all really shown that they’ve progressed well through their training throughout the season so far,” Waters said. “Now it’s just time to show that their fitness is there, to believe in what they’ve been doing, to implement their race plans and strategies and to make sure they’re running for each other as a team.”
Alabama will look to improve its regional and conference standings against 23 men’s teams and 26 women’s teams at the Crimson Tide’s home opener later this week, running against SEC rivals such as LSU, Auburn, Tennessee and Mississippi State, among others. The men’s team will run the 8,000-meter race, while the women will take on the 5,000-meter course. The Crimson Tide women will run to defend their home turf, going for a third-straight win in the Crimson Classic, a meet that includes teams at both the university and high school levels in the region.
The 2012 season was marked by the process of giving experience to a very young team comprised heavily of freshmen. Waters said the 2013 season shows promise for harnessing young talent and putting training from last season into action.
“They all bring something unique to the team – every single one of them,” he said. “We’ve been really pleased with their development, and we see that if they continue to follow the plans that we put forth for them, they’ll be big contributors sooner if not later.”
The Crimson Tide cross-country team has shown significant signs of improvement over the course of last season, with the women finishing sixth at the NCAA South Regionals last year and one runner placing in the Top 20 at the SEC Championships.
This year, Alabama has already been competitive. At its season opener against Samford, the women took the first seven places in their 5-kilometer race. At the Paul Short Invitational, in which many prominent university programs participated, the women placed 10th out of 48 teams, while the men occupied the 25th spot of 47 teams. Waters, who has helped to rebuild and unite a previously gender-separated Alabama track and field and cross-country program, sees great potential for this season.
“We’re very optimistic about where the program is going and where the teams are at this point in the season,” he said. “If we can get our team to come together, we think we can have a very good chance of doing some very special things – being competitive within the SEC and the region both.”
