Friday, September 12, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sept. 12, 2008) - The East Tennessee State University men's and women's cross country teams head to Charlotte this weekend to compete in the Bajangles Invitational on Saturday morning.

The men kick off the day with an 8K race at 8 a.m. on Charlotte's campus; while the women start their 5K race 40 minutes later.

Leading the pack for the Buccaneer men include cousins Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya) and Ben Ronoh (Sotik, Kenya). This dominant duo placed second last weekend at the Virginia Tech Relays and look to finish atop the field on Saturday.

On the women's side, twins Terra and Tesha Haggard (Morristown, Tenn.) will guide the Bucs in the 5K race. The sister combo finished seventh last weekend, in Blacksburg.

Charlotte's campus course takes runners on a tour of a few of the outer reaches of campus with the women running a 5K course and the men running an 8K course near the athletic complex and also traversing the woods that surround the 49er campus.

Runners will start competition at on the Intramural Fields above the Wachovia Fieldhouse and end their campus tour at the start/finish line on the newly resurfaced track inside the Belk Track and Field Center.

Teams expected to compete in this weekend's race include host Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith, Lenoir-Rhyne, Livingstone, Montreat, UNC-Asheville, St. Joseph's, Winthrop and Xavier.

For more information on Buccaneer cross country, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.