Thursday, October 21, 2004

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College cross country teams are preparing for the South Atlantic Conference Championships to be held in Morristown, Tenn. this Saturday at Panther Creek State Park.

The women are gunning for their first SAC Championship after finishing third the last three years.

The women's team is once again led by senior Amanda Musick (Lebanon, Va.) who is attempting to become the first Tusculum harrier to be a four-time All-Conference honoree. The 2003 SAC Runner of the Year has earned First Team recognition in each of her first three seasons and set a new course record at last year's championships. Musick has one individual title this year and has finished lower than fourth just once.

On Musick's heels in virtually every race is Freshman of the Year candidate Jamie Dyke (Newport, Tenn.). Dyke has been TC's second-best runner in each race and has four top-five finishes.

The Pioneers' top freshman last year, Sarah Alston (Morristown, Tenn.) has a fifth-place finish to her credit and has been in TC's top three in every meet.

Tusculum has one of its deepest teams in recent years with sophomore Ashley King (Piney Flats, Tenn.), and freshmen Jessi Chrisman (Dandridge, Tenn.), Dannielle Hutson (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Rosie Perez (Lexington, Ky.) all contributing to the Pioneers' success.

Two-time All-SAC performer Ross Lewis paces the men's squad. The junior from Morristown missed the season-opening meet, but posted four top-20 finishes with a season-best time of 28:32 at the Tusculum Invitational where he finished third.

Sophomore Michael Connell (Greeneville, Tenn.) has consistently been the team's second-fastest runner with two top-20 finishes, including a ninth-place showing at the Tusculum Invitational.

The lone senior on the roster, Roger Jones (Greeneville, Tenn.), has an 11^th-place showing to his credit to go along with his season-best time of 32:14.

Participating in their third SAC Championships are juniors Jason Lowe (Midway, Tenn.) and David Hileman (Castlewood, Va.). Hileman posted his best time of the year (37:22) in his last outing. Sophomore Robert Meek (Marion, Va.) has been slowed by injuries and has only competed once this season.

Newcomer Scott Howard (Wakefield, Mass.) has participated in all six races and has one top-20 finish. Fellow freshman Thomas Whitley (Fayetteville, Ga.) has also posted solid results.