Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Saturday’s 11th annual Greater Louisville Classic likely will be the largest collegiate cross country meet contested in the nation this year.

The Louisville Sports Commission will host 115 colleges and universities from 24 states, featuring more than 2,400 athletes. Of those teams, 35 men’s squads and 41 women’s teams are nationally ranked by either the NCAA Division I, II or II, or the NAIA.

Action at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park begins with the men’s gold division at 9:30 a.m. Then, it will be women’s gold at 10:15, men’s blue division at 10:45, women’s blue at 11:30, men’s silver division at noon and women’s silver at 12:30. High school and middle school competition will follow, beginning at 1:15 p.m.

Top teams in the men’s gold include sixth-ranked Texas, No. 8 Iona and No. 28 Columbia. Regionally ranked teams include Georgia, Arizona, Penn State and Louisville. Others to watch include Michigan State and Division II powers Grand Valley State and Southern Indiana.

Premier individuals in the 8,000-meter race include Arizona teammates Lawi Lalang and Stephen Sambu. Lawang is the defending NCAA champion, and Sambu was NCAA runner-up in 2010. North Carolina-Greensboro’s Paul Chelimo was the 5,000-meter runner-up at the 2012 NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Louisville, ranked No. 6 in the Southeast Region, is led by Kenyan freshman Ernest Kibet. He won his collegiate debut two weeks ago, leading the Cardinals to a first-place finish in the Winthrop Invitational. Also placing in the top 20 in that meet for U of L were Gordon Dooley, Mattias Wolter, Evan Hibbs and Ryan Eaton.

Kentucky is led by senior Luis Orta, sophomore Mackay Wilson and junior Matt Hillenbrand.

No. 1-ranked Washington leads the women’s Gold teams. The field, competing over a 5,000-meter course, also includes No. 8 Vanderbilt, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 12 Arizona, No. 14 Michigan State, No. 17 Penn State and No. 29 Wisconsin.

Washington is led by Katie Flood, who placed seventh in last year’s NCAA Championships, and Megan Goethals, the 5,000-meter runner-up in track last spring. Arizona boasts Jennifer Bergman, 26th in last year’s NCAA, and Elvin Kibet, seventh in the NCAA track 10,000. Vanderbilt’s contingent includes  Liz Anderson, out of Louisville’s Manual High School.

U of L is paced by sophomore Michelle Molodynia, a Canadian, who placed eighth at Winthrop. Maria Frigo and Leah Kiyohara are the Cards’ next-best threats.

Kentucky features Cally Macumber and the reigning Freshman of the Week in the Southeastern Conference, Mary Kate Ponder. Macumber won the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational and Ponder placed 32nd, helping the Wildcats to a second-place team finish. Chelsea Oswald and Allison Peare also placed in the top 10 at Virginia.

Eastern Kentucky men climb in poll

Eastern Kentucky’s men, who climbed one spot to No. 25 in the nation this week, opted to compete Friday in the Notre Dame Invitational.

The Colonels are led by junior Soufiane Bouchikhi, the two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference Runner of the Year. A deep roster includes junior Wade Meddles, sophomore Ben Toroitich, Thijs Nijhuis and Ole Hesselbjerg, and freshman Amos Kosgey.

The EKU women will be competing Saturday at Louisville.

The Eastern Kentucky men’s cross country teams bolted seven spots ahead in the Southeast Region rankings, compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Louisville is the lone in-state team on the national spotlight, not ranked but among “others receiving votes” — six votes that equate to No. 35.

Kentucky leads the women’s teams from the commonwealth, No. 6 in the Southeast Region. UK and EKU are the only Kentucky schools ranked in both region polls. Western Kentucky’s women are No. 14 in the Southeast.

Stanford leads the men’s national poll with 352 points and six first-place votes. Oklahoma State is close behind with 347 and five.

No. 5 Alabama and No. 13 Arkansas are the top Souheastern Conference representatives. The Big East has four top 25 teams: No. 9 Syracuse, No. 14 Villanova, No. 20 Providence and No. 25 Georgetown.

U of L was off last weekend after placing second a week earlier in the University of Evansville Mid-America Opener. Michael Eaton led the Cardinals in that race, placing second. Tyler Byrne, Gordie Dooley and Evan Hibbs placed 7-9-10. U of L will travel to the Navy Invitational this weekend at Annapolis, Md.

EKU climbed in the rankings thanks to a strong win over Marshall on Sept. 4. The top three finishers for the Colonels did not compete on the team last season. Freshman Soufiana Bouchikhi won the race; junior David Mutuse, who red-shirted last year, was runner-up; and freshman Ole Hesselbjerg placed fifth.

The Colonels will run this weekend in the Western Kentucky Old Timers Classic. Evans Kiptoo, third at last year’s Ohio Valley Conference Championships, is expected to make his season debut for EKU.

No Kentucky teams are ranked in the women’s national poll, which is led by Villanova.

USTFCCCA men’s national poll
(Rank, team, points, with first-place votes in parentheses)
1. Stanford 352 (6); 2. Oklahoma State 347 (5); 3. (tie) Northern Arizona (1) and Oregon 332; 5. Alabama 300; 6. Colorado 297; 7. Wisconsin 290; 8. Portland 261; 9. Syracuse 259; 10. Iona 258; 11. North Carolina State 216; 12. Oklahoma 211; 13. Arkansas 194; 14. (tie) New Mexico and Villanova 185; 16. Brigham Young 145; 17. Arizona State 140; 18. Michigan State 131; 19. Iowa State 130; 20. Providence 129; 21. Duke 128; 22. Virginia 118; 23. Florida State 101; 24. Princeton 98; 25. Georgetown 96; 26. Butler 72; 27. Minnesota 62; 28. Indiana 56; 29. William and Mary 39; 30. Texas 34.
Others receiving votes — Cal Poly 32, Ohio State 22, North Carolina 8, UCLA 7, Louisville 6, California 6, Florida 1.

USTFCCA Men’s Southeast Region
1. North Carolina State; 2. Duke; 3. Virginia; 4. North Carolina; 5. William and Mary; 6. Louisville; 7. Virginia Tech; 8. Eastern Kentucky; 9. Liberty; 10. George Mason; 11. Kentucky; 12. Norfolk State; 13. Clemson; 14. High Point; 15. Appalachian State.

USTFCCCA women’s national poll
1. Villanova 360 (12); 2. Florida State 344; 3. Washington 322; 4. Oregon 305; 5. Texas Tech 303; 6. Duke 294; 7. Georgetown 290; 8. Florida 270; 9. Princeton 263; 10. Syracuse 245; 11. Colorado 224; 12. Virginia 214; 13. Stanford 213; 14. Providence 188; 15. Notre Dame 169; 16. Iowa State 164; 17. West Virginia 155; 18. New Mexico 150; 19. Texas-El Paso 147; 20. Brigham Young 135; 21. Michigan State 109; 22. Southern Methodist 99; 23. Arizona 93; 24. Iowa 91; 25. Minnesota 82; 26. Wisconsin 71; 27. Michigan 70; 28. Penn State 58; 29. Rice 31; 30. North Carolina 26.
Others receiving votes — Arizona State 21, Nebraska 15, Indiana 9, Stony Brook 7, Ohio State 6, Toledo 6, Arkansas 4, Kansas 4, Vanderbilt 4, Kansas State 3, Miami (Ohio) 2, Baylor 1.

 USTFCCA Women’s Southeast Region
1. Duke; 2. Virginia; 3. North Carolina; 4. North Carolina State; 5. Clemson; 6. Kentucky; 7. James Madison; 8. Charlotte; 9. Eastern Kentucky; 10. Wake Forest; 11. Richmond; 12. Virginia Tech; 13. George Mason; 14. Western Kentucky; 15. William and Mary.