Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
Cross Country Schedule Highlighted by AAC Championships at Home
6.29.17 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
PHILADELPHIA - Temple's men's and women's cross country teams will serve as hosts for the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park. The conference meet is the highlight of a strong schedule for the Owls, who begin their season on the same course.
"Our entire program is really looking forward to hosting the conference championships on the final Friday of October," said head cross country coach James Snyder. "Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Events Management Bryan Kulp and our Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator Mary McElroy, along with their staffs, have been working tirelessly to prepare for this event. The course itself has undergone significant changes over the past few years and we're looking forward to introducing the rest of our conference to the challenging hills of Belmont Plateau."
The AAC Preview meet will also take place at Belmont Plateau and is set for Friday, Sept. 1, starting Temple's season off at home. Two weeks later, the Owls head to Lawrence, N.J. for the Rider Invite on Sept. 15.
The furthest travel of the regular season takes Temple to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invite on Sept. 29.
"Like our football team, we'll be making the trip out to South Bend in September to race against some of the top teams in the country," said Snyder. "This invitational draws some of the best programs from across the states and I'm really looking forward to seeing our men and women race against a higher level of competition. The women's race is 5000 meters (1000 meters shorter than our championship distance) so we'll look to be aggressive with our tactics and position ourselves well in the field."
The Owls then return to Philadelphia for the Jack St. Clair Invite on Oct. 7, and will have one more race at Princeton on Oct. 14 before hosting the AAC Championships on Oct. 28.
The 2017 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional will be hosted by Lehigh on Friday, Nov. 10. Eight days later, Temple's runners will compete in either the IC4A/ECAC Championships in N.Y., or the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky.
On the men's side, graduate student Marc Steinsberger will lead the way after bursting onto the scene for the Owls last year. He placed sixth at the IC4A Championships and ninth at the American Athletic Conference Championships after winning two races in the regular season.
The women's team will look to junior Katie Leisher, who earned four top-10 finishes last season along with a 14th-place showing at the American Athletic Conference Championships. Also returning after a strong season is sophomore Millie Howard, who took 20th at the AAC meet a year ago and earned three top-10 finishes in earlier races.
"I'm entering this year with more optimism than ever before," says Snyder about the upcoming season. "We return all of our major contributors from last season and have signed a great class of newcomers who we expect to contribute at a high level right away. Both programs will have a chance to compete for podium finishes at the conference championships which is something we've yet to accomplish here at Temple. The work our young men and women put in over the summer while they're away from campus will go a long way in determining just how successful we can be this fall."
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"Our entire program is really looking forward to hosting the conference championships on the final Friday of October," said head cross country coach James Snyder. "Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Events Management Bryan Kulp and our Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator Mary McElroy, along with their staffs, have been working tirelessly to prepare for this event. The course itself has undergone significant changes over the past few years and we're looking forward to introducing the rest of our conference to the challenging hills of Belmont Plateau."
The AAC Preview meet will also take place at Belmont Plateau and is set for Friday, Sept. 1, starting Temple's season off at home. Two weeks later, the Owls head to Lawrence, N.J. for the Rider Invite on Sept. 15.
The furthest travel of the regular season takes Temple to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invite on Sept. 29.
"Like our football team, we'll be making the trip out to South Bend in September to race against some of the top teams in the country," said Snyder. "This invitational draws some of the best programs from across the states and I'm really looking forward to seeing our men and women race against a higher level of competition. The women's race is 5000 meters (1000 meters shorter than our championship distance) so we'll look to be aggressive with our tactics and position ourselves well in the field."
The Owls then return to Philadelphia for the Jack St. Clair Invite on Oct. 7, and will have one more race at Princeton on Oct. 14 before hosting the AAC Championships on Oct. 28.
The 2017 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional will be hosted by Lehigh on Friday, Nov. 10. Eight days later, Temple's runners will compete in either the IC4A/ECAC Championships in N.Y., or the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky.
On the men's side, graduate student Marc Steinsberger will lead the way after bursting onto the scene for the Owls last year. He placed sixth at the IC4A Championships and ninth at the American Athletic Conference Championships after winning two races in the regular season.
The women's team will look to junior Katie Leisher, who earned four top-10 finishes last season along with a 14th-place showing at the American Athletic Conference Championships. Also returning after a strong season is sophomore Millie Howard, who took 20th at the AAC meet a year ago and earned three top-10 finishes in earlier races.
"I'm entering this year with more optimism than ever before," says Snyder about the upcoming season. "We return all of our major contributors from last season and have signed a great class of newcomers who we expect to contribute at a high level right away. Both programs will have a chance to compete for podium finishes at the conference championships which is something we've yet to accomplish here at Temple. The work our young men and women put in over the summer while they're away from campus will go a long way in determining just how successful we can be this fall."
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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