After having runners place in the top 40 in last week’s Florida State Invitational, the Lady Rattlers are ready to compete again in the third annual Bobby Lang Invitational.
The team plans to use this meet as preparation for the upcoming Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship.
Top runner, sophomore Chandelic Jackson, who placed 35th at the last meet (19:39), will be spearheading the team in its first home meet of the season. Jackson was also last year’s second place finisher, when she averaged 6:19.3 per mile.
Junior Nadine Mulvany (19:43 at FSU), Simone Durden (19:45), and Clarricia Golden (19:46), last year’s champion, are expected to play pivotal roles in defending home track.
The course will start on the Robert “Pete” Griffin Track Complex and make its way around campus to the finish line, back on the track.
After two consecutive first-place finishes at the meet, the team is looking for a third consecutive championship against such rivals, Bethune-Cookman, Albany State University and Morehouse College.
The team’s willingness to help one another has contributed to the early season success. Jackson said the team’s communication makes runners more competitive on the track.
“We try to make sure that if one person isn’t performing as we feel they should be doing, we push them. We encourage each other to do the best we can,” Jackson said in an interview with FAMU Athletics.
Head coach Darlene Moore agreed. She said the difference in talent between her runners is so small that her top runners can be subbed for one another at any time.
“All of our ladies in places one thru five are very competitive and interchangeable,” Moore added in the interview with FAMU Athletics.
The 5K meet, named in honor of legendary FAMU track and field coach Bobby Lang, will begin 10:00 a. m. Saturday.