ETSU’s Cross Country team competed in the Southern Conference Championship race on Sat., Nov. 2 on the Pine Oaks Golf Club in Johnson City.
“It’s all about the team effort, and we have an experienced team this year,” said senior Adam Bradtmueller (Sarasota, Florida). “We all came in as young guys, and now three or four years down the road we are ready to do what we always try to do – we try to win. This is the year we have a shot.”
This year, the conference was hosted by ETSU, so the team had an advantage of getting to know their course.
“We’ve been waking up to meet at the golf course at 6 a.m. doing some pretty hard workouts and getting used to the course,” said Bradtmueller. “I think it gives us a big advantage going in.”
The men’s team finished the race runner-ups with junior Ben Varghese (Kingsport, Tennessee) leading the team coming in at third place with a time of 25:09.99. Bradtmueller finished the 8K at 25:37.35 in eighth place.
Red-shirt junior Noah Charles (Johnson City, Tennessee) placed 14 with a time of 26:19.29.
The Bucs had its top five runners place in the top-16 with Josh Routh (Johnson City, Tennessee) and Josh Krafser (Fort Collins, Colorado) finishing back-to-back in 15 and 16 place, with Routh at a time of 26:24.10 and Krafser at 26:26.48.
“Hosting the race is a big deal, turning that into a positive we will have a pretty good crowd out there,” said head coach George Watts. “My message is don’t put any added pressure on yourself in a negative way. Enjoy it, and let the people around you help you along the way.”
The women’s team placed fourth place in the conference championship with junior Heather Feuchtenberger (Elizabethton, Tennessee) leading the buccaneers in 17th place with a time of 19:08.85 and sophomore Shila Kapaya (Knoxville, Tennessee) close behind in 21st place with a time of 19:16.14.
The cross country teams are set to compete in the NCAA South Regional race on Nov. 15 at 9:30 a.m.
