NCAA Cross Country Championship will air live on Versus Network
Nov 20, 2009 | Track and Field
Nov. 20, 2009
Terre Haute, Indiana - Monday's national championship cross country races will air live from the LaVern Gibson Championship Course on Versus Network as well as online through the NCAA.com website.
Race time for Texas A&M individual qualifier Joe Sauvageau will be at 11 a.m. (Central) over a 10,000-meter course. The women's race over 6,000 meters follows at noon (Central).
This will be the third time for Sauvageau to run on the challenging course. The most recent journey was during last year's NCAA Championship when the Aggies qualified as a team. Sauvageau was the fifth runner on the A&M squad as he covered the course in a time of 31:42.
"It will be different for me this time since I'm racing as an individual rather than with a team," noted Sauvageau, who recently ran 30:55 over a 10K course at the region meet. "Now I have the opportunity to race and see how well I can do while attempting to earn All-America honors by finishing in the top 40.
"Last year was a bit of a shock to all of us on how fast the race went out, it caught us off guard. Knowing what to expect and knowing the caliber of athletes you are going to race against is one thing I'll have some experience in from last season."
Back in 2006 the Aggies competed on the course during Pre-Nationals in October, running a distance of 8,000 meters. Sauvageau contested the open division and ran 25:16 to place 39th overall.
Sauvageau's senior season has seen him finish among the top three on the A&M team in each race. He led the crew in Wisconsin and was the second Aggie finisher in Virginia. During the Big 12 Championship he was third on the team behind fellow seniors Andrew Montes and Mitch Bible. As a junior, Sauvageau finished fourth among his teammates in three races and fifth in three others.
"My family has always been real supportive of me," noted Sauvageau, who had a sister, Sarah, and a brother, Tom, both compete for Texas A&M. "I'm from a family full of runners. It's been kind of unreal in actually succumbing to the goal I set to qualify for nationals.
"It's still a bit bittersweet since the team didn't make it and Mitch Bible just missed qualifying as well. But I still need to be proud of the thing I accomplished."
On Monday in Indiana, Sauvageau will race among a field of 255 runners, which includes 31 teams each comprised of seven runners along with 38 individuals.
Facing such a challenge motivates Sauvageau to produce his best race in key situations. A previous highlight race came last February during the indoor track season when Texas A&M hosted the Big 12 Championships.
With the 3,000 meters split into two sections, Sauvageau was slotted in the first section while the favorites for the eight scoring positions were set to run in the second section. Breaking out to an early lead Sauvageau pressed on in his mission to score points for the Aggies.
In winning the first section Sauvageau's time of 8:08.45, a personal best by just over nine seconds, placed seventh overall when combined with the results of the second section and earned A&M two points.
"As a distance runner, especially, you have that one race every season that brings you back and keeps you motivated through the summer as you train," stated Sauvageau. "The 3,000 meters at the Big 12 Indoor was definitely that race for me last year.
"I made a breakthrough and had my best day on the day that mattered. I was fortunate for that to happen again at the Region cross country championships. There are four or five races I can think of in my past that have just been outstanding. They will always be with me."
Recent outings on the Gibson Course have exposed the athletes to elements that included strong winds and temperatures in the 30s to 40s. Weather forecast for Monday's races call for a high of 57 and a low of 43 with a 10 percent chance of rain.
No matter the conditions, Sauvageau is in the frame of mind to seek another day of great racing.
"I felt towards the end of the season everything was coming together," said Sauvageau. "My fitness right now is a lot higher than it's been the whole season.
"I'm just going to out there and try to stick with the guys in the front quarter of the race as long as I can. I'm eager to see how well I'll do among a field of great runners."
