The ETSU Buccaneer’s men and women opened their cross-country season last weekend in Boone, N.C. at the Covered Bridge Open on Sept. 3.
Both programs coming off of very successful seasons arrived on the day with high hopes and an eagerness to return to competition. Both programs separately entered the event ranked No. 2 in the SoCon preseason polls released in late August.
The Bucs, returning with their top five scorers in each program, looked to continue where they left off in the spring. The women’s program returned with the stand-out athlete, Lindsay Stallworth (Knoxville, Tenn.), who captured the individual title at the SoCon championship in 2020.
The men’s team had a strong showing following the performances of Matt Scarr (Wambersal, NSW, Australia) and Brayden Hamblen (Rock Falls, Ill.). Scarr would post his third top-five finish in his college career with a time of 25:17.56 in the 8k event. The Bucs would close the event behind Florida State and Appalachian State to secure a third-place finish for the men’s program.
The women’s program also saw a strong performance by Stallworth, who was the fourth-fastest collegiate runner in the field of 130. She would finish the 5k event in fifth-place with a time of 17:24.63. “…Stallworth did a great job leading the way and is right where she needs to be for early September,” said Director of Cross Country/Track and Field George Watts. The women’s program would go on to finish sixth in the Covered Bridge Open. Florida State would sweep both events finishing first-place in both men’s and women’s competitions.
With three more regular-season events remaining on the schedule for the Bucs, the programs will look to find their might as they travel to Huntsville, Alabama later this month to compete in a competitive North Alabama Showcase that will feature many SEC teams and SoCon rivals on Sept. 17.
