Thursday, October 15, 2009

DeLAND, Fla. (Oct. 15, 2009) - The ETSU cross country team will escape the damp, cool weather of Johnson City this weekend, as the Buccaneers travel to the Sunshine State Friday evening and compete at the 16^th annual Hatter Invitational.

The race takes place at the Sterling Sports Complex and will be hosted by Stetson - which is also the same course the Atlantic Sun Championships will be contested on Oct.  31. The women begin with a 5K run at 5 p.m., while the men follow 40 minutes later with an 8K race. Both the men's and women's course layouts consist of loop configurations over grass and dirt around the circumference of the Sports Complex and adjoining wooded areas. Ninety-nine percent of the course is non-paved.

The 2009 field is considered one of the largest this meet has seen, with a total of 43 schools competing (24 women and 19 men). ETSU will go head-to-head with four conference schools on Friday, as Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville and UNF will all be in action. In addition, South Florida, Central Florida, Embry-Riddle, Florida International and Florida Atlantic are also expected to compete.

Leading the way for the Buccaneer men will be senior Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya) and junior Ben Ronoh (Sotik, Kenya). Rotich has led ETSU across the finish line in each of the first three races this season. Meanwhile, Ronoh has been the Bucs' number two runner this year, but red-shirt senior J Penny (Jonesborough, Tenn.) has been solid at the number three pole and looks to close the gap with Ronoh in the final meets of the season.

On the women's side, a pair of junior runners has led Lady Bucs this season. Newcomer Caitlyn Epps (Cookeville, Tenn.) and two-year letterwinner Terra Haggard (Morristown, Tenn.) are the top two athletes on the Lady Bucs roster, and both look to run strong races on Friday.

Event results will be available Friday night at ETSUBucs.com or www.altavistasports.com.

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