ETSU’s men’s cross country team had three runners finish in the top 10 to lead the Bucs to a fourth-place finish while the women finished sixth at the 2002 SoCon Championships held in Hollywood, S.C., Saturday.
Sophomore Bradley Yewer finished fourth, junior David Haefner finished sixth and 2002 SoCon Freshman-of-the-Year James Grufferty finished eighth to lead the ETSU men’s cross country team.
Yewer, the 2001 SoCon freshman-of-the-year, finished the 8k run in the time 25:00.79, while Haefner finished in 25:16.79. Grufferty finished the race in 25:17.70, followed by Buccaneer freshman Peter Dalton who finished 22nd with a time of 26:03.46.
“We are young and still learning how to compete at this level and race at this level,” head coach Dave Walker said.
Grufferty was named SoCon Freshman-of-the-Year for his performance at the conference championships and the 2002 season.
The Glanmire, Ireland, native finished all but one of the Buccaneers five races this season in the top 15, with his best race of the year coming at the SoCon championships. Prior to Saturday’s race, Grufferty’s top performances were two 12th-place finishes, first at the Catamount Classic hosted by Western Carolina and at the Blue Ridge Open hosted by Appalachian State.
On the women’s side, Buccaneer junior Emily Chaney finished 13th to lead ETSU to a sixth place finish running the 5k race in a time of 18:42.65. Freshman Katie Marshall finished 26th followed by freshman Christine Ward who finished 42nd with a time of 19:44.88.
“This was a good run for us, the team has really improved throughout the season,” assistant coach Michelle Byrne said. “We will continue to develop.”
Appalachian State edged out Chattanooga to sweep the SoCon Championship totaling 63 points on the men’s side and the women gathering 43.

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