Simeon Roberts, James Garst earn Second Team All-SoCon honors. Garst named SoCon Freshman of the Year

GREENVILLE, S.C. (October 31, 2015) - On Saturday morning, the ETSU cross country program ran at the Southern Conference Championships hosted by Furman University. The men's team finished third while the women finished fourth.

"I am please with both teams effort today at the Championships. It's been a difficult season as both teams have fought through some tough times but they ran their best races of the season today, " said director of Cross Country/Track & Field George Watts. 

In the men's race ETSU was paced by junior Simeon Roberts with a time of 25:04.04 and an overall finish of 13th. It's the fourth time this season Roberts has led the Bucs. Close behind was freshman James Garst who finished 14th with a time of 25:04.18. Rounding out the top five for ETSU was sophomore Skyler Winchester, sophomore Haydn Borghetti-Metz and senior Angus Baldwin.

"I couldn't be more pleased with the effort as this is a young team and we have a lot to look forward to in the future," said Watts. "Roberts continues to lead the team while James Garst has been a pleasant surprise earning All-Conference  and top freshman." 

With the 13th placed finish, Roberts garnered Second Team All-SoCon honors for the second straight year. Garst also earned Second Team honors along with being named the SoCon Freshman of the Year as he was the first freshman in the conference to cross the finish line. In addition Garst was honored on the SoCon All-Freshman team. It's the second straight season the Bucs have had two runners named to the SoCon Second Team.

Overall, the Blue & Gold finished third with a total of 90 points behind VMI with 79 points and conference champion Furman with 20 points. It's the third straight year the Paladins have taken the conference crown.

On the women's side, ETSU was led by junior Victoria Hutchens with a time of 19:12.33. Hutchens placed 16th out of nearly 75 runners and just missed out on earning Second Team All-SoCon honors. Behind Hutchens was junior Emily Williams placing 18th with a time of 19:22.31. Rounding out the top five was junior Sahara Fletcher, sophomore Macy Carrier, sophomore Alexa Zimmerman.

"Victoria led the team and just missed receiving all-conference honors," said Watts. "She has improved tremendous amount this seasona and I am very pleased with her progress."

The Bucs placed fourth with a total of 121 points behind UNCG and Chattanooga. Furman won the conference for the third straight season with a total of 33 points.

"As we move forward, both teams need to see the opportunities in front of them and have a goal of reaching the top of the podium," said Watts. 

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For more information on Buccaneer cross country, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the mens or womens cross country page.