University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Cross Country Hoping To Peak At SEC Championships
October 30, 2009 | Cross Country
ATHENS, Ga. --- With four meets of preparation behind them, Georgia’s cross country teams travel to Oxford, Miss., today to compete at the Southeastern Conference Championships on Saturday morning.
The starting gun for the men’s 8K race on the Ole Miss Golf Course will fire at 11 a.m. EDT while the women’s 6K race is scheduled to begin at noon. A chance of morning rain is expected and temperatures are forecasted to be in the mid-50s around race time.
“We are finally at the point in the season where I am confident both teams are over some of the respiratory problems and sickness that were slowing us down earlier in the year,” Pigg said. “If the women’s team executes and runs a strong race, I feel confident they can finish in the top four. Our guys have two great leaders in Bejan Abtahi and Dustin Tetley who have experience at several conference meets so hopefully they can take charge and be an example for our freshmen and sophomores. Both teams got great tune-ups at Notre Dame and the Pre-Nationals and now it’s time for them to continue their development in the postseason.”
Pigg will be traveling sophomore Kristie Krueger, senior Bridget Lyons, senior Taylor Adams, junior Hadley Ferguson, junior Kylie Foley, freshman Allyson McGinty, senior McKayla Plank, freshman Ashley Shiver, junior Kara Sporrong and senior Katie Weise from the women’s side. Also of note, Shiver will be in the same field as her older sister, Kaitlin, who is a junior at Florida, for the second time in their collegiate careers.
For the men, Abtahi, Tetley, sophomore Matt Cleaver, freshman Brian Detweiler, sophomore Joseph Hackney, freshman Ryan Hershner, freshman Bill Matthews, freshman Danny Neff, sophomore Brett Richardson and sophomore Miles Svoboda will make up the 10 runners for the Bulldogs.

“Kristie Krueger and Bridget Lyons has been fantastic through the first four meets and I think Bridget is poised to have the best SEC meet of her career on Saturday,” said Pigg. “On the men’s side, Abtahi and Tetley have separated themselves as the leaders for this team at practice and during the meets. I think those two teamed with the young talent we have should give us a better-than-expected finish.”
Pigg is looking forward to his teams running on a course that he ran on during his college career at Florida more than 20 years ago.

“I actually remember running on this course back around 1985 and I am looking forward to our teams getting a chance to compete on it,” Pigg said. “Our new home course and our training trails around Athens have helped prepare us for courses with tough footing and steeper hills so I am expecting some peak performances in Oxford.”
The Georgia women carry a No. 4 ranking in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region poll into the conference meet. Only No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Tennessee are ranked ahead of Georgia from the SEC.
Georgia is coming off a 19th-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 17. Krueger, who has led the Lady Bulldogs during all four of their first meets, finished 31st overall with a 6K time of 21:22.0.
Lyons, who joins Krueger as a team captain, and Weise have the most SEC meet experience. Lyons finished 92nd as a freshman, 53rd as a sophomore and 33rd as a junior, finishing one spot out of scoring for the team last season. Weise was 89th in 2006, 52nd in 2007 and 32nd in 2008, scoring for the Lady Bulldogs during her junior year.
Foley is another returning scorer for the Georgia women. She was the second finisher for the Lady Bulldogs at the 2008 SEC meet taking 27th.
The Lady Bulldogs finished fourth at the 2008 SEC meet after taking third in 2007 and earning runner-up honors in 2006. Senior Natalie Picchetti led the way with a 13th-place finish with Foley as Georgia’s second finisher. Jennifer Barbi (31st), Weise (32nd) and Lyons (33rd) rounded out the scores for the Lady Bulldogs, who finished with a score of 117 points.
The Bulldog men are ranked seventh in the latest USTFCCCA South Region poll, trailing No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Tennessee from the SEC.
Georgia took 24th at the NCAA Pre-Nationals, which was a 15-place improvement from their 2008 finish and their top finish in the last four seasons at the meet. Abtahi, a senior captain, topped his teammates finishing 78th (24:56.0) in the 8K race. He has now been first across the finish line in every race this season for the Bulldogs.
Abtahi was 56th as a freshman and scored with a 46th-place finish in 2007 before sitting out the 2008 season while completing an internship. Senior Caleb Vogt scored with a 46th-place finish in his first season, was 62nd as a sophomore and then led Georgia at the 2008 meet with a 30th-place finish. Sophomores Miles Svoboda (51st), Matt Cleaver (52nd) and J.P. Hackney (54th) also scored the Bulldogs in 2008.
In addition, senior Brian Potts was 46th as a freshman and Tetley, who is also a captain, had a 66th-place finish in 2007 before scoring with a 53rd-place finish last season.
The Georgia men left Starkville, Miss., with an eighth-place finish after scoring 227 points last year. Vogt (30th – 25:01.16) crossed the finish line first for the Bulldogs while Svoboda finished 51st overall. Georgia’s other three scorers at last year’s meet were Cleaver, Tetley and Hackney.
Full results and a recap from Saturday’s SEC Championships will be available at right here on georgiadogs.com.
The starting gun for the men’s 8K race on the Ole Miss Golf Course will fire at 11 a.m. EDT while the women’s 6K race is scheduled to begin at noon. A chance of morning rain is expected and temperatures are forecasted to be in the mid-50s around race time.
“We are finally at the point in the season where I am confident both teams are over some of the respiratory problems and sickness that were slowing us down earlier in the year,” Pigg said. “If the women’s team executes and runs a strong race, I feel confident they can finish in the top four. Our guys have two great leaders in Bejan Abtahi and Dustin Tetley who have experience at several conference meets so hopefully they can take charge and be an example for our freshmen and sophomores. Both teams got great tune-ups at Notre Dame and the Pre-Nationals and now it’s time for them to continue their development in the postseason.”
Pigg will be traveling sophomore Kristie Krueger, senior Bridget Lyons, senior Taylor Adams, junior Hadley Ferguson, junior Kylie Foley, freshman Allyson McGinty, senior McKayla Plank, freshman Ashley Shiver, junior Kara Sporrong and senior Katie Weise from the women’s side. Also of note, Shiver will be in the same field as her older sister, Kaitlin, who is a junior at Florida, for the second time in their collegiate careers.
For the men, Abtahi, Tetley, sophomore Matt Cleaver, freshman Brian Detweiler, sophomore Joseph Hackney, freshman Ryan Hershner, freshman Bill Matthews, freshman Danny Neff, sophomore Brett Richardson and sophomore Miles Svoboda will make up the 10 runners for the Bulldogs.

“Kristie Krueger and Bridget Lyons has been fantastic through the first four meets and I think Bridget is poised to have the best SEC meet of her career on Saturday,” said Pigg. “On the men’s side, Abtahi and Tetley have separated themselves as the leaders for this team at practice and during the meets. I think those two teamed with the young talent we have should give us a better-than-expected finish.”
Pigg is looking forward to his teams running on a course that he ran on during his college career at Florida more than 20 years ago.

“I actually remember running on this course back around 1985 and I am looking forward to our teams getting a chance to compete on it,” Pigg said. “Our new home course and our training trails around Athens have helped prepare us for courses with tough footing and steeper hills so I am expecting some peak performances in Oxford.”
The Georgia women carry a No. 4 ranking in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region poll into the conference meet. Only No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Tennessee are ranked ahead of Georgia from the SEC.
Georgia is coming off a 19th-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 17. Krueger, who has led the Lady Bulldogs during all four of their first meets, finished 31st overall with a 6K time of 21:22.0.
Lyons, who joins Krueger as a team captain, and Weise have the most SEC meet experience. Lyons finished 92nd as a freshman, 53rd as a sophomore and 33rd as a junior, finishing one spot out of scoring for the team last season. Weise was 89th in 2006, 52nd in 2007 and 32nd in 2008, scoring for the Lady Bulldogs during her junior year.
Foley is another returning scorer for the Georgia women. She was the second finisher for the Lady Bulldogs at the 2008 SEC meet taking 27th.
The Lady Bulldogs finished fourth at the 2008 SEC meet after taking third in 2007 and earning runner-up honors in 2006. Senior Natalie Picchetti led the way with a 13th-place finish with Foley as Georgia’s second finisher. Jennifer Barbi (31st), Weise (32nd) and Lyons (33rd) rounded out the scores for the Lady Bulldogs, who finished with a score of 117 points.
The Bulldog men are ranked seventh in the latest USTFCCCA South Region poll, trailing No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Tennessee from the SEC.
Georgia took 24th at the NCAA Pre-Nationals, which was a 15-place improvement from their 2008 finish and their top finish in the last four seasons at the meet. Abtahi, a senior captain, topped his teammates finishing 78th (24:56.0) in the 8K race. He has now been first across the finish line in every race this season for the Bulldogs.
Abtahi was 56th as a freshman and scored with a 46th-place finish in 2007 before sitting out the 2008 season while completing an internship. Senior Caleb Vogt scored with a 46th-place finish in his first season, was 62nd as a sophomore and then led Georgia at the 2008 meet with a 30th-place finish. Sophomores Miles Svoboda (51st), Matt Cleaver (52nd) and J.P. Hackney (54th) also scored the Bulldogs in 2008.
In addition, senior Brian Potts was 46th as a freshman and Tetley, who is also a captain, had a 66th-place finish in 2007 before scoring with a 53rd-place finish last season.
The Georgia men left Starkville, Miss., with an eighth-place finish after scoring 227 points last year. Vogt (30th – 25:01.16) crossed the finish line first for the Bulldogs while Svoboda finished 51st overall. Georgia’s other three scorers at last year’s meet were Cleaver, Tetley and Hackney.
Full results and a recap from Saturday’s SEC Championships will be available at right here on georgiadogs.com.
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