Coach George Johnson of Ben Lippen School with his top runner, Graham Tribble

The 2005 Coaches Classic will be Saturday, September 10, at the Sandhills Research Park 3.05 mile course.

Spring Valley Head Coach John Jones, the meet’s co-director said, “There are some school districts concerned about the gas situation. Some say they’re not sure they can get there. If everyone shows up, it will be a great meet over a perfectly beautiful course.”

The five contest program begins at 8 am for SC High School League and SC Independent Schools Association (SCISA) teams from across the state. It begins with the Junior Varsity girl’s race. Fifteen minutes later the Varsity Boys Championship Division begins its run.

Then, at 9:15 the Varsity Girls will be in action while the Varsity Boys International racers await the starter’s gun set to fire at 10 o’clock. The climactic race for Junior Varsity Boys will begin at 10:30.

Fourteen teams from greater Columbia vicinity will be competing including several teams ranked in the Top 5 in their classifications. Among the Class AAA teams are Dreher’s third ranked boys’ team and Chapin’s second ranked girls’ squad.

Spring Valley’s Vikings have two groups of runners in the upper echelon. The SV girls are slotted fifth in the SC Track and Cross Country Association rankings. The Lady Vikings are led by defending meet champion Kate Niehaus, one of the nation’s top ranked high school distance runners.

The boys of SVHS entered the season at No. 3 in the state behind top ranked Northwestern of Rock Hill and Fort Mill. Ridge View’s Blazers boys are fourth.

Among the expected teams is Ben Lippen School, led by venerable Coach George Johnson. His top runner, Graham Tribble, is one of the aces in SCISA. He will gun for a better showing than his seventh place finish in 2004.

Other Midlands en-tries are A.C. Flora, Blythewood, Brookland–Cayce, Chapin, Dutch Fork, Hammond School, Lexington, Pelion, and White Knoll.

Spectator admission on race day for the Coaches Classic is $5 per person at the gate. The Sandhills Research Park is on Clemson Road west of I–20 and Two Notch Road.