Cross country teams head to Alabama for Southern Showcase

The Eastern Florida State College cross country teams will compete among some of the best collegiate teams in the nation Friday at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama.

NCAA Division I, Division II and junior college teams will compete with the men's race beginning at 7:30 a.m. and the women's race starting at 8:15 a.m. 

"There are some major Division I schools running in the race and we are not at that level, but it is exciting for us to see how we stack up," Eastern Florida State College men's cross country coach Doug Butler said. "It is a faster course like our Region and National courses and we will have 65 degree temperatures which will also be similar to what we will see in Tallahassee." 

In the men's race, Alabama and the University of Mississippi are both ranked in the latest national rankings and will be competing along with UCF, South Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Memphis and a host of other schools. The 8K race will run the same 5K race as the women with loop to start to make up the 8K run. 

The Titans are coming off a solid showing in the EFSC Classic and Dayton Law was named the Region 8 Runner of the Week for his performance, running a 26:13 to finish in eighth place.

"We took it easy this week, the boys are disappointed in last week's meet and are motivated to show they are better than how they finished the opener," Butler said.

The women's race will be a 5K and features three teams currently in the Division I national rankings as Alabama is No. 10, Ole Miss is No. 16 and Kentucky is receiving votes in the poll.

The Titans are looking to continue improving in their second event of the season.

"Most of them ran better than at the jamboree, they ran better at a course that was slower so that is exciting. Allison being back will give us some more depth, the ladies will be better, I am excited to see their times and I think they will surprise some people."

The course will be closer to the type of course that the Region and National meet which will give the teams an idea of what to expect later this season.

"It is a beautiful course, it is a fast course and we are excited about it," Butler said. "I wanted to get a good idea of what we could do, it is a wide-open course so it will be very similar to Apalachee Regional Park. The more familiar you are with the course, the better you will be."