(Photo by John Kelley)
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We are excited about the coming 2015 season and our schedule,” said Cunniff, who will be starting his fourth year as an assistant at UGA after graduating from the institution in 1991. “We feel like the schedule is a good combo of giving our teams the opportunity to develop while also competing versus some of the nation’s best. This schedule will allow us to see how we stack up with teams we will see at the South Regional and at NCAAs. I think it will challenge us to compete at our very best.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Following their opener, the Bulldogs will make the short trip to Greenville, S.C. for the third year in a row and run at the Furman Cross Country Classic on Saturday, September 12. Georgia will train through the next weekend before traveling to the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown on Friday, September 25, a meet that traditionally brings some of the nation’s top talent to Boston, Mass.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We are particularly excited about traveling to Boston to run at the Battle in Beantown,” said Cunniff. “This will give us an opportunity to run against and see some of the competition that is not in our region.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs will make their first appearance since 2010 at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet on Saturday, October 17. Georgia has competed at the Wisconsin Invitational the last four years in preparation for the postseason. With this year’s Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Cunniff is excited to have the opportunity to run on the same course at the E.P. Tom Sawyer Park where the NCAA Championships will be run a month later.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “The Pre-Nationals meet allows us to preview the course that we hope to return to for the NCAA Championships,” Cunniff said. “It will also be great to get back to a spot where we have had success, especially at the level we did in 2012.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia had both of its teams advance to the 2012 NCAA Championships in Louisville. The Bulldog men left Kentucky with their best national finish in history (19th).
[su_spacer size=”40″] The cross country teams from across the league will make the trip to College Station, Texas, for the Southeastern Conference Championships, which will be run on Friday, October 30.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Two weeks later, the Bulldogs travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the NCAA South Regional. In 2013, the Georgia men edged Florida by one point to clinch the South Regional title on Alabama’s course and punched their ticket to their school record third consecutive NCAA Championships.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The conclusion of the year will be back in Louisville for the NCAA Championships on Saturday, November 21. The Georgia men last competed at NCAAs in 2013 while the women last battled at the national meet in 2012.