Spartanburg, S.C. (November 2, 2002) - East Tennessee State freshman James Grufferty was named Southern Conference Freshman-of-the-Year after an eighth place finish at the SoCon Cross Country Championships held in Hollywood, S.C. Grufferty helped lead the Buccaneers to a fourth place overall finish at the championship finishing in 25:17.70. The Glanmire, Ireland native finished all but one of the Buccaneers five races this season in the top fifteen, with his best race of the year coming at the SoCon championships. Prior to today's race, Grufferty's top performances were two 12th place finishes, first at the Catamount Classic hosted by Western Carolina and at the Blue Ridge Open hosted by Appalachian State. This marks the second straight year that ETSU has been awarded the SoCon Freshman-of-the-Year. Bradley Yewer (Newbury, England), who has led the Buccaneers in every race this season, received the award in 2001.