Bucs head to Johns Island for conference meet

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (Oct. 29, 2022) – The ETSU men’s and women’s cross country teams are set to compete in the 2022 Southern Conference Championships as the meet will held Sunday from Johns Island County Park in Johnson Island, S.C.  

MEET INFO

Date: Sunday, Oct. 30

Meet: Southern Conference Championships   

Location: Johns Island County Park (Johns Island, S.C.)

Time: Men’s 8K – 10 a.m. | Women’s 5K – 10:45 a.m.

Price: $2 admission

Results: SnapTiming 

• This is the first time the SoCon meet is held in the Charleston area since 2012 (Appalachian State swept both the men’s and women’s titles that season)
• ETSU’s men have won 15 SoCon titles (eight straight from 1978-85) … Two of the 15 men’s titles came in Charleston and five of them occurred in the Palmetto State.
• The last Buccaneer men’s runner to win gold at the SoCon meet was Derek Murphy as the Bucs swept the 1995 titles in Greenville
• ETSU’s women won two SoCon team titles – 1985 and 1999 … The 1985 win came in Charleston
• Lindsey Stallworth (Knoxville, Tenn.) is the last Buccaneer to win an individual title as she captured gold in 2020
• Both the Furman men’s and women’s teams have won the last nine SoCon Championships

BUCCANEER RUNNERS

• ETSU is sending nine women’s runners and nine men’s runners to run in the conference meet.
• The Bucs last ran two weeks ago at the VertCross Invitational where the ETSU men swept the team and individual titles and the women placed second.
• Evan Guzman (Franklin, Tenn.) won his first collegiate race two weeks ago where he posted the top time of 24:28.0 … Overall, the Buccaneer men had five runners finish in the top-12 en route to winning gold.
• Guzman led the Blue and Gold in all four of the regular season events this season, posting three top-five finishes.
• Last season, Guzman paced the Bucs at the SoCon Championship as he finished ninth in just his second collegiate race with a time of 25:52.2.
• As a team, ETSU’s men finished second at last year’s conference meet.
• On the women’s side, the Bucs have been led by Rebekah Howard (Ashland, Ky.) and Genevieve Schwarz (Oak Ridge, Tenn.).
• Howard led the Blue and Gold in two of the four meets and Schwarz paced the Bucs in the other two.
• Schwarz led the women last time out in North Carolina where she finished third overall with a time of 21:41.9 on the 6K course, marking her top collegiate finish.
• Howard was ETSU’s top runner in the season-opening meet in Spartanburg and again in her home state of Kentucky at the beginning of the month. Howard set a personal best time on a 5K course at the Louisville Classic (17:33.9) and also had her fastest 6K mark last time out, finishing in 22:22.9 at the VertCross.
• Last season, Schwarz finished 13th at the SoCon meet clocking in with a time of 19:04.9. Schwarz has finished in the top-15 in each of her last two conference championships, while Howard made her debut last season.

Below is a full listing of ETSU student-athletes running on Sunday.

Women
AnJulia Foote, Rebekah Howard, Camryn Johnson, Chanelle Kruger, Izelle Kruger, Jessica Lord, Genevieve Schwarz, Kiera Snyder, Karli Townsell; Julia Karsten (alternate)

Men
Mason Brandon, Xian Campbell, Gavin Cooper, Evan Guzman, Nate Hillis, Abdul Jaber, Josh Krafsur, Myles Stoots, Jordan Thomas; Ben Kenner (alternate)

THE FIELD

• All 10 SoCon teams will be competing this Sunday in the conference championship.
• The Buccaneer men are ranked No. 13 in the South region, while Furman is No. 8 in the Southeast region.
• On the women’s side, Furman is ranked No. 27 in the national rankings (No. 4 in the Southeast region) and Samford is No. 12 in the South region. 

QUOTES

Below are quotes from head coach George Watts heading into this weekend’s meet.  

“The women's race will be the most competitive it's been in quite some time. I won't try and predict where we will finish, but believe we are prepared to have a solid race, hopefully the best of the season. Kiera Snyder, who has not raced this season due to injury, is going to give it go and is our wild card this year.”   

“This team has been one of the most improved groups of cross-country racers I've had since my time at ETSU, maybe the best in that category. They've been very coachable and deserve to have a great race.  They just need to go out there, stick to their race plan, dig deep when necessary and run 5001 meters.” 

“The men's team has endured some rough patches due to injuries, but I have great confidence in these guys and expect them to run well. They get along well as team, and support each other every day.”   

“This is a very improved group of cross-country men who've continued to get better and better every season. When you throw in a group of freshmen who've made progress throughout the season, it's made it easy to come to practice every day as a coach.”  

“They've set some very high goals individually and as a team. I won't make any predictions, because that would be unfair to the team, but I am looking forward to seeing how it plays out on Sunday.” 

UP NEXT

Following the conference championship, the Bucs will gear up for the NCAA South Regional which is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 11 in Huntsville, Ala.  

For more information on Buccaneer men’s and women’s cross country, visit ETSUBucs.com.