Aug. 29, 2007

Podcast: Head Coach Michael Whittlesey (.mp3)

Chapel Hill, N.C. -

The North Carolina cross country teams have been preparing all summer for the 2007 season and will finally get underway Saturday when UNC will host the Carolina Challenge. The men's team is coming off an eighth place finish in the ACC and an 11th place finish in the NCAA regional. The women's team on the other hand finished sixth in the ACC and the region and was 31st at the NCAA Championships.

Head coach Michael Whittlesey is entering his 10th season as the head cross country coach for the Tar Heels and is expecting big things this year from both teams, "I think that we could have possibly two of the best teams since I've been at Carolina."

The women's team returns All-America Brie Felnagle who finished 22nd at the NCAA Championships a year ago. Felnagle was also named as an all-region and all-ACC selection. Also returning for the Tar Heels is Megan Kaltenbach, who earned all-ACC honors last year with a 14th place finish at the ACC Championships.

"We had trouble staying healthy last year and we did not reach our expectations as a result," Whittlesey added. "We have had some great runners come through here and I feel that we are way ahead of where we've been in the past."

The men's team lost the services of top runner and team leader Pablo Durana along with Victor Ornelas, however, Whittlesey is very pleased with what he has coming back.

"We have several developed leaders coming back in Alex Ray, Tristram Thomas, Jeremy Hyder and Brock Baker," Whittlesey said. "The men's team is the deepest that I have ever had here...our top five to seven runners could switch every meet."

The Tar Heels will open the season on Saturday when they host the Carolina Challenge set to begin at 9 a.m.