WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Sept. 30, 2006) - The ETSU men's and women's cross country team competed Saturday morning in the William and Mary Inter-Regional Challenge. The men finished the 8K race sixth out of 10 teams, with host William and Mary taking home the top spot, followed by Georgetown University, LaSalle University, Virginia Tech and University of Maryland rounding out the top five.

            Sophomore Michael Deren (Blasdell, N.Y.) finished the challenging course which included a lot of switches and rolling hills in 22^nd place with a time of 25:23.9. Following him was Jeff Crane (Taylors, S.C.) in 47^th with a time of 26:15.4 and Josh Hicks (Riceville, Tenn.) finishing in 49^th with a mark of 26:19.6. Kenneth Rotich (Sotik, Kenya) was the fourth ETSU runner to cross the finish line in a time of 26:41.1 and David McDaniel (Elizabethton, Tenn.) rounded out the race for the Bucs with a mark of 28:14.2.

            "It has been a long and slow process for our team to figure out how to run with the best teams in the country," said head coach Dave Walker. "We are making progress, but these next four weeks are going to be critical as we get our team prepared to head into the Atlantic Sun Championships. It was great to see Deren finish this rugged course with a top-30 finish and hopefully as a team we can build on that."

            On the women's side, Allie Frazier (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Vicki Currie (Dumfries, Scotland) were the only two Lady Bucs healthy enough to compete in the 6K race. Currie crossed the finish line in 88^th place (25:37.8), while Frazier finished with a time of 27:08.

            "Our two women had a performed well in practice all week, so the expectations were high for them to race well today," said coach Michelle Byrne. "We are hoping to get some of our team back healthy for our next race, but our girls are keeping their chins up and battling through this difficult time right now."

            The men's and women's cross country team will travel to Boiling Springs, N.C. on Friday, Oct. 6 to compete in the Gardner-Webb Cross Country Dual Meet. The 6K race is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.