JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 1, 2005) - The ETSU cross country teams open up the 2005 season this Saturday as the Bucs travel to the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.  The women's race begins at 9:00 a.m. while the men's will immediately follow at 9:45.

The men's team returns senior Peter Dalton (Dublin, Ireland) who was the Buccaneers top finisher at this meet last year by placing third overall.  Junior Joshua Hicks (Riceville, Tenn.) and sophomore Jordan Ladd (Lyn, Ontario, Canada) also return after finishing in the top 30 last year at Virginia Tech.

For the women, Christine Ward (Candler, N.C.) returns as the lone senior to lead a young Lady Bucs team.  Ward finished 27th at the Virginia Tech Invitational last year.

Both team's schedule for 2005 includes the Mountaineer Opener in September, and the Furman Invitational, Blue Ridge Open, and Clemson/Georgia State Invitational in October.  The Atlantic Sun Conference Championships will be held at Campbell University on Oct. 29.  On November 12, ETSU will compete in the NCAA South Regional Championships in Gainesville, Fla.  Any Bucs that qualify for the NCAA Championships will run at Indiana State's course on Nov. 21.