KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (October 14, 2016) –  The ETSU cross country program had a tremendous showing at the VertCross Invitational on Friday night as the men’s team finished third while the women’s team finished ninth.

ETSU had a strong showing from the men’s team as their top five runners each finished in the top 50. Senior Simeon Roberts (Greeneville, Tenn.) for the second straight week and third time this season paced the Bucs with a 18^th place finish and a time of 25:41.16.

In 20^th place was freshman Adam Bradtmueller (Sarasota, Fla.) who was just a second behind Roberts coming in with a time of 25:42.45. Following Bradtmueller was senior Skyler Winchester (Knoxville, Tenn.) in 30^th with a time of 25:51.32.

Rounding out the top five for the blue and gold was sophomore James Garst (Jonesborough, Tenn.) and junior Matthew Warriner (Maryville, Tenn.). Overall the Bucs, who are ranked 15^th in the USTFCCCA South Region totaled 111 points to finish third behind Duke and meet champion George Mason.

For the fourth meet in a row the ETSU women were led by senior Victoria Hutchens (Stuart, Va.) who finished 25th with a seasonal best 6k time of 22:15.89. In her first race of the season senior Katie Hirko (Oley, Pa.) came in second for the Bucs with a time of 22:57.46.

Rounding out the top five was junior Macy Carrier (Bluff City, Tenn.), freshman Kaitlyn Lay (Knoxville, Tenn.) and sophomore Nicki Smith (Urbandale, Iowa). Each of the top five women for ETSU finished in the top 100 out of 207 runners.  

Overall the women tallied 220 points to finish ninth and ahead of three Southern Conference foes (Western Carolina, Wofford, VMI). Duke won the women’s race with 70 points.

It was the final meet for the Bucs before the SoCon Championships on Saturday, Oct.29 at Camp Jordan Arena, hosted by the University of Chattanooga. For the SoCon Championships, the women begin their race at 10:00 a.m. followed by the men’s race at 10:45 a.m.

For more information on Buccaneer Cross Country, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the cross country pages. Follow ETSU cross country on Twitter @ETSU_TF_XC