TOWSON, Md. – The Towson women's cross country team will travel to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship on Saturday, Oct. 31 for one of its final meets of the season.
The conference meet, hosted by College of Charleston, will be held at the Laurel Hills Plantation in Mt. Pleasant. The women's 6K race is set to at 10 a.m. with the men's competition will follow at 11 a.m.
"Everything we've done has been in preparation for this time," said head coach
Mike Jackson. "The mindset we've had with our athletes is 'no pressure', just do your part. Our goal is to do better than last year and to finish in the top six.
"We're one of the few programs that have been down to see the course," Jackson continued. "We think that's good for our athletes. They're excited and they did well down there so they have an idea of what they're getting into."
The Tigers have been led all season by junior
Megan Knoblock. She finished fourth at the College of Charleston (CofC) Invitational, timing 22:48. Knoblock ran a personal best time of 22:27 at the Paul Short Women's Brown 6K race, placing in the top-50 in a field of 387 competitors.
"Megan has just been the constant throughout the year," Jackson explained. "She's been our leader and really helped with our team. She's just done an outstanding job."
Towson has seen breakout seasons from freshman
Abby Gauthier and sophomore
Hannah Walter. The duo had season-best finishes of eighth-place and 17th-place, respectively, at the CofC Invitational.
"Abby as a freshman has had an outstanding start," said Jackson. "She is a great fit for Towson and a great fit for Division I. She's a Division I runner in my opinion and she'll do very well as time goes on.
"We're very, very high on Hannah right now," Jackson continued. "She does everything that you ask, has no complaints. She just does her work. She is one that really stands out and has worked her way up as time has gone on."
Last season, the Tigers placed seventh at the CAA championship meet. Graduated seniors
Elisabeth Tauber and
Ashley Simmons led the Tiger pack, finishing 26th and 48th, respectively. Knoblock rounded out the Tiger top three with a finish in the top 50 overall.
"I'm confident that individually and as a team, we will perform better," Jackson said. "It's just a matter of where that places us. Anything is possible so we're going to take on that attitude."
The Tigers conclude their postseason activity at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals on Friday, Nov. 13. The meet will be hosted by Princeton and is set to begin at 12 p.m.
