Friday, September 26, 2008

MACON, Ga. (Sept. 26, 2008) - The ETSU men's and women's cross country team return to action Saturday morning, when the Buccaneers catch a sneak peek of the 2008 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship course at the Mercer RunFit Sports Invitational. The women begin the morning with a 5K run at 9 a.m., while the men start their 8K race 35 minutes later.

ETSU will be led by four-time Atlantic Sun Runner of the Week selection, Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya), who is coming off a first-place finish two weeks ago in Charlotte. The junior runner blew away the 89-man field at the Bojangles Invitational on Sept. 13, finishing with a conference-best time of 25:22. As a team, ETSU finished second behind the host 49ers.

On the women's side, the Buccaneers will be led freshman Victoria Jones (Marshall, N.C.). Jones became the first female runner in ETSU history to claim Atlantic Sun Runner of the Week honors after finishing with a time of 21:16 in Charlotte. The Bucs are also led upfront by twins Terra and Tesha Haggard (Morristown, Tenn.), who are the top returners from last season.

This course will be the exact same layout for the conference championships in November. The picturesque course offers rolling terrain and consists of two (1.5 mile) loops and a fast 160 meter straightaway for the women, and the men loop three times around (4.5 miles) and finish with a short half-mile loop to finish the 8K course.

For a full recap and individual times, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.