JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 9, 2004) - The East Tennessee State men's cross country team finished 14^th at the Furman Invitational, Saturday from the Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, S.C. Junior Peter Dalton (Dublin, Ireland) paced the Buccaneer men's squad with a sixth-place finish while senior Jennifer Habbestad (Tampa, Fla.) finished 36^th to lead the ETSU women's squad that had four individuals competing.

            Dalton completed the 8K course in 25:54.40, just over 47 seconds behind first-place Jacob Korir of Eastern Kentucky who crossed the line in 25:07.52. EKU also won the men's team event, finishing just ahead of second-place Appalachian State.

            "If Peter (Dalton) continues to run like he is now, he will contend for a top-five finish at the conference meet," said ETSU head cross country coach Dave Walker following the meet.

            Freshman Jordan Ladd (Lyn, Ontario) also ran well, finishing 32^nd with a time of 26:59.50 while sophomore Joshua Hicks (Riceville, Tenn.) was the third Buccaneer finisher, placing 90^th (28:16.58).

            On the women's side, Habbestad finished the 5K course in 19:46.54 as Clayton State's Allison Kreutzer won the event with a time of 18:01.99. Appalachian State and Davidson tied for the women's team title while Furman placed third.

            Freshman MacKenzie LaBonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.) was the next Buccaneer finisher, placing 78^th with a time of 20:35.73. Sophomore Maggie Hunter (Roanoke, Va.) finished 96^th (20:53.84) and senior Tiffany Collier (Atlanta, Ga.) was 106^th (21:09.71) to round out the day for the Bucs.   

            "All four of our runners showed marked improvement over their performances in our last meet at Virginia (Sept. 18)," commented ETSU assistant cross country coach Michelle Byrne. "We are definitely moving in the right direction. We are pleased with how we progressed and how we executed our race plan."

            A team of ETSU cross country alumni competed in the men's race, finishing 15^th. Brad Yewer led the team, finishing fourth with a time of 25:49.13 while Rick Patterson was the team's next finisher in 64^th (27:40.05). Derek Murphy, David Haefner, Mike Farkas and Scott Faulds also participated for the squad.

            The East Tennessee State men's and women's cross country teams return to action on Oct. 15 at the Blue Ridge Open, hosted by Appalachian State in Boone, N.C.

Men's Results: Furman Invitational - 8K

6. Peter Dalton (Jr.), 25:54.40

32. Jordan Ladd (Fr.), 26:59.50

90. Joshua Hicks (So.), 28:16.58

154. Joshua Gibson (Jr.), 29:40.06

158. Towett Benard (Fr.), 29:53.59

190. Cody Patterson (So.), 31:21.01

218. Patrick Loven (Fr.), 33:48.97

Women's Results: Furman Invitational - 5K

36. Jennifer Habbestad (Sr.), 19:46.54

78. MacKenzie LaBonte (Fr.), 20:35.73

96. Maggie Hunter (So.), 20:53.84

106. Tiffany Collier (Sr.), 21:09.71