On Oct. 1 the ETSU cross country team went up against competition that were ranked nationally and regionally during the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic.
On the men’s team, senior Simeon Roberts (Greeneville, Tenn.) finished 64th out of 313 runners with a time of 25:06.35 for the Buccaneers. Roberts recorded his best 8K time of the season, which was better than his time of 25:58.30 at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational.
“The men have battled some injuries that have kept them from having a better race today,” said Director of Cross Country/Track & Field George Watts. “Three of our potential top five dropped out today but that is not an excuse because we have depth and we need to overcome those situations.”
Not too far behind Roberts for the Bucs was freshman Adam Bradtmueller (Sarasota, Fl.), finishing 106th with a time of 25:31.55. The next three runners that finished for the Bucs were senior Skyler Winchester (Knoxville, Tenn.), sophomore James Garst (Jonesborough, Tenn.) and junior Daniel Sonnenfeldt (Knoxville, Tenn.).
For the day the ETSU men’s team finished 28th out of 33 teams. The winner of the event was Grand Valley State with 82 points. For the women’s cross country team senior Victoria Hutchens (Stuart, Va.) finished first for the third straight week with a time of 18:21.40 to finish 138th. The next closest runner for the Bucs was junior Macy Carrier (Bluff City, Tenn.), who finished 171st with a time of 18:37.90.
“Mostly all of the women had season-best times today as Victoria Hutchens was our number one runner for the third time this year,” Watts said. “She as well as the others have improved each meet.”
The next three runners to finish for the Bucs were Nicki Smith (Urbandale, Iowa), senior Sahara Fletcher(Atlanta, Ga.) and freshman Adrienne Hutchens (Stuart,Va.). The women’s team finished 34th.
Michigan Wolverines went on to win the event on the women’s side with 58 points.
Next for the Bucs will be the HPU Vert Cross Country Invitational on Friday, Oct. 14. The Bucs aren’t too far from the Southern Conference Championship, which begins on Saturday, Oct. 29.
“The guys need to decide how good they want to be this season and improve their mental approach to competition,” Watts said. “The women need to keep doing what they are doing.”
