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Bulldog Stampede Showcases Top Runners

by Glenn Fullington
09/26/2007

The University of Georgia hosted its first cross country meet in four years for a collection of regional colleges as well as high schools from all divisions in Georgia.

The Bulldog Stampede was held Saturday at the University of Georgia Golf Course where a five kilometer course was set up for high school and collegiate women as well as an eight kilometer course for collegiate men.

In cross country, scores are given to eligible team runners based on when they finished. A first-place finish would earn one point, second-place would receive two. The scores for a team’s top five runners are then compiled to rank teams, so the lower the score the better.

The Lady Bulldogs dominated the race, with six of the top 10 finishes for a commanding team win with only 20 points and an average time of 18:11.43.

The Lady Bulldogs are currently ranked 13th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll.

After a win earlier this season at the 5K Covered Bridge Open, the Lady Bulldogs are training hard and “trying to run as a pack,” says Coach Dave Hartman. The team is led by a group of experienced seniors but is also packed with lots of youth. “We have a deep team,” Coach Hartman commented.

The next meet on the schedule is the Bill Dellinger Cross Country Invite this weekend, hosted by the University of Oregon where the top 15 schools from across the nation will race to earn points for nationals. Pre-nationals, the preliminary race for NCAA Championship, will be held Oct. 17 in Indiana.

The male team is also packed with talent. Senior Ryley Miller finished third (25:07.45) on Saturday. The Bulldogs took second-place to Auburn who compiled a team score of 46 to the Bulldogs’ 55.

The top runners at the Stampede were actually unaffiliated with schools. Runners can run unattached for individual times. The ‘Bulldog Alumni’ team unofficially finished in fifth-place. Ian Burrell came in first with a time of 24:31.81 and Jill Steffens topped the women’s podium with a time of 17:34.78.