Saturday, October 03, 2009

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2009) - On a day when the ETSU cross country program took part of history, senior distance runner Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya) and junior Lady Buccaneer Terra Haggard (Morristown, Tenn.) paced their respective squads across the finish line on Saturday afternoon at the Greater Louisville Classic.

For the third time this season Rotich led the way for the Buccaneer men's squad, finishing 30th overall with a time of 24:29.11 on the 8K course. Rotich's time was over a minute faster than the one he turned in two weeks ago on the 8K terrain in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Meanwhile, junior Ben Ronoh (Sotik, Kenya) placed a respectable 43^rd after turning in a time of 25:03.90. 

Overall, ETSU finished 16th overall with 514 points and finished one spot behind conference rival Belmont - who tallied 435 points. Louisville captured the crown with 68 total points, while Kentucky (153 points) and Tennessee (188 points) rounded out the top three positions.

Stephen Sambu from Rend Lake College won the individual title on Saturday. The sophomore runner clocked in at 23:33.22.  

On the women's side, Haggard led the Lady Bucs to the stopping point for the first time in 2009. The Morristown, Tenn. native finished the 5K run in 20:52.71. In addition, junior Caitlyn Epps (Cookeville, Tenn.) followed shortly behind in 21:15.36.

The Purdue Boilermakers won the overall event with 88 points, edging out both Kentucky (130 points) and host Louisville (141 points).

Senior Janet Jesang from Western Kentucky was the first female runner to cross the line - turning in a mark of 16:47.97. 

The 8th annual Greater Louisville Classic featured history, as 76 teams competed from 16 different states, making it the largest collegiate cross country meet ever contested in the south region.

The ETSU cross country team returns to action on Friday, Oct. 17, when the Buccaneers head to the Sunshine state to compete in the Hatter Invitational.

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