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Sept. 1, 2010

2010 UT XC Preseason Prospectus

By Eric Trainer, Associate Director of Media Relations

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --J.J. Clark has had a record-breaking run with the Tennessee women's cross country team during his first eight seasons at the helm. He would like to continue that spree of unprecedented success, but it is going to take the timely development of some young and untested runners to extend that spree in 2010.

Clark, a five-time Southeastern Conference and South Region Women's Coach of the Year, welcomes back seven letterwinners from a team that finished second in the SEC and third in the NCAA South Region. Unfortunately, he must account for the loss of four seniors who carried the lion's share of the load in 2009.

Departing were Jackie Areson, a three-time All-South Region and 2009 All-SEC selection, and Katie Van Horn, a three-time All-South and two-time All-SEC honoree. Both were NCAA individual qualifiers a year ago. Also gone are Michele Levy, who scored at three meets, and Phoebe Wright, a middle distance ace who ran fifth for UT in its final three races of the campaign.

Fortunately for the Big Orange, two-time All-SEC and All-South choice Brittany Sheffey is back in the fold, ready for a memorable senior season and prepared to lead her squad into battle. After scoring in the No. 2 slot for UT in four meets in 2009 and following that up with a strong effort on the oval last spring, she appears primed for the task at hand.

"Sheffey is our captain, our leader, our experienced veteran," Clark said of the SEC's 12th-place finisher last season. "She's been around now for four years. She is our top returning runner, and we look forward to her continued growth in cross country.

"Her 5K time outdoors in track last season indicates she can be a factor in cross country. I believe she is coming into her own and showing consistency. That will be very important for building our team in 2010."

Junior Chanelle Price, who like Wright is a top-notch middle distance runner on the track, showed her abilities on the trail last fall by finishing as the squad's fourth runner in the final three outings of the season. She placed 18th at the SEC meet and 32nd at the NCAA South Regional, indicating she also is quite capable of making a strong impact in cross country.

Juniors Elizabeth Altizer and Elizabeth Tiller, and sophomores Ally Colvin, Ramzee Fondren and Kelsey Kane round out Tennessee's returning letterwinners. Of that group, Altizer, Tiller, Fondren and Colvin have the most experience.

Tiller, who came to UT as both a Peyton Manning and Haslam Scholar for her academic prowess, has 11 races under her belt. She has shown marked improvement since arriving on campus and scored for Clark's club in the first two races last season, running fourth on the team at the Belmont-VU Opener. She reported in with four personal bests in six races as a sophomore.

Altizer, meanwhile, worked her way into the scoring five once as a freshman and sophomore. The junior appeared in only three races a year ago and will be counted on much more in her third season at Rocky Top.

If she can return to, or improve upon, the form that helped her run sixth on the team and 56th overall at the 2008 SEC Championships, it would be a huge boost to the team's fortunes during the 2010 campaign.

As a redshirt freshman in 2009, Fondren saw duty in four meets and made a contribution to the team tally at the Brooks Paul Short Run. She posted a career-best time of 23.14 to run fifth on the squad. After showing signs of taking a big step forward during track season, Fondren has elevated Clark's expectations for her this fall.

Colvin and Kane are hoping to add themselves to the mix after injuries limited their ability to train and compete in 2009. Colvin ran in six races as a true freshman in 2008 before redshirting a year ago.

Kane, meanwhile, redshirted in 2008 and saw action in the season-opener a year ago before spending the rest of the campaign continuing the recovery process.

Four other middle distance types with limited collegiate experience round out the returnees. That group includes senior Kim White and sophomores Andrea Ferri, Charity Honeycutt and Chelsea Knotts.

Clark is going to need a team effort from everyone involved to ease the loss of his departed standouts.

"We can't replace Jackie or Katie, but Chanelle is one who will be a factor later in the season as we work in our middle distance type runners at the conference meet," Clark said. "We'll need other people to step up tremendously, like Ramzee Fondren or Ally Colvin, who didn't run cross country at all last season. These types of youngsters have to answer the bell if we're going to have any consistency this season."

Clark also could use a spark from his class of six newcomers. Rookies include Brittney Jackson, Ty-Vonna Johnson, Kianna Ruff and Amber Zimmerman. Jackson, a multi-talented athlete, and Zimmerman, who hails from Knoxville's Webb School, appear to be the most likely of the group to provide immediate help.

"Amber Zimmerman is very talented and can step in and help us out," Clark said. "I also believe someone like a Brittney Jackson may have the ability to go out there and pull through. We'll see. We'll put them all out there (on the course), stir it all up and see how they turn out when they start racing."

Also joining the team are transfers Erica Moore (Indiana State) and Nijgia Snapp (Seton Hall). Moore, a multi-event All-America track & field athlete for the Sycamores, will try to aid the UT women's cross country team while she pursues graduate school. Snapp, meanwhile, brought her 400m/800m talents south when SHU disbanded its track program and will hit the trail with Clark's other middle distance runners and try to lend a hand this fall.

With so many new and inexperienced faces, Clark is anxious to take his harriers to the meets and get a better read on the team.

"I just need to see some more from my team and assess where they are at this point. After three or four weeks we should have a better idea of what's going on."

The schedule finds the Lady Vols and Vols traveling together to most meets with the exception of one weekend. The first two meets will be at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, where UT competes in the 4K Belmont-VU Opener on Sept. 3 and the 5K Commodore Classic on Sept. 18. Next come the first two of potentially five 6K races, the Brooks Paul Short Run on Oct. 1 and Penn State National on Oct. 16. That weekend, the men will be at the ISU Pre-Nationals Invitational.

The postseason part of the 2010 slate commences on Nov. 1 at the SEC Championships in Columbia, S.C. Tennessee will then take part in the NCAA South Regional meet in Hoover, Ala., on Nov. 13, hoping to earn a bid to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 22. The Lady Vols will be vying for their first team trip to nationals since 2006.

"I'm looking for someone to step up, show some competitive spirit and give me some fight," Clark said. "They all have to be in position to step in and fill the voids. That is something that is expected in this program. They understand that people are graduating every year, and it's their turn to answer the bell."