Newcomers Stallworth, Varghese Each Finish in Top 25

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (November 10, 2017) – The 2017 season came to end for ETSU’s cross country teams at the NCAA South Regional on Friday, but the Bucs got a glimpse of a promising future.

Each ETSU team got its top performance from a freshman in a crowded field on the Henry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Lindsey Stallworth (Knoxville, Tenn.) was 24^th out of 228 runners in the women’s 6K, and Ben Varghese (Kingsport, Tenn.) finished 18^th out of 164 in the men’s 8K.

The Buc women were 18^th out of 31 teams in the scoring. The men were 14^th out of 24.

WOMEN’S RACE

The ETSU women had run one 6K race this season prior to Friday – the HPU VertCross Invitational in Kernersville, N.C. on October 13.

Stallworth was 63^rd at the 500-meter mark before methodically moving her way through the field. At 2700 meters, she was 38^th, and moved into the top 30 at the 4200 mark. She’d pick off six more competitors from there and crossed the finish line with a time of 20:44.60 – nearly 64 seconds better than her showing at the HPU.

Senior Emily Williams-McElroy (Bristol, Tenn.) also finished well, picking up 13 spots over the last 1800 meters to finish 84^th in 21:48.60, bettering her HPU time by better than 23 seconds.

Senior Macy Carrier (Bluff City, Tenn.) was the Bucs’ 3^rd-best performer, finishing 112^th at 22:18.0. That was nearly five seconds better than her time at Kernersville.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Lay (Knoxville, Tenn.) was 4^th for ETSU, moving past five competitors over the final thousand meters to finish 120^th, at 22:28.20.  Freshman Makayla Shaw (Jonesborough, Tenn.) provided the Bucs’ last points-paying spot, finishing 5^th-best on the team and 126^th in the scoring at 22:35.60 – improving her HPU time by more than 10 seconds.

Freshman Heather Feuchtenberger (Elizabethton, Tenn.) posted a time of 22:57.50 – nearly 54 seconds better than in Kernersville – and freshman Colbie Williamson (Clyde, N.C.) trimmed nearly 36 seconds off her HPU performance with a time of 23:30.60 on Friday.

MEN’S RACE

Varghese made his move roughly midway through the race. He was 43^rd over the first 500 meters, but had moved into the top 25 by the 4500 mark. He was 20^th at 7000 meters and moved up two more spots before crossing the line with a time of 31:29.30.

Junior James Garst (Jonesborough, Tenn.) moved up 21 spots over the last 3500 meters to poste ETSU’s 2^nd-best time. He finished 58^th in the scoring at 32:42.40.

Sophomore Adam Bradtmueller (Sarasota, Fla.) was 77^th overall and 3^rd-best for the Bucs at 33:03.60. Sophomore Nick Horne (Blountville, Tenn.) was 82^nd in the scoring at 33:12.30 and freshman Louis Morris (Johnson City, Tenn.) provided ETSU’s final points-paying spot by finishing 97^th at 33:32.00. Sophomore Nathan Longfellow (Cookeville, Tenn.) posted a time of 34:04.60.

Ole Miss and Georgia claimed the top two spots in the women’s team standings and qualified for the NCAA National Championships on November 18. The top two men’s spots on Friday went to Middle Tennessee State and Ole Miss. Samantha Drop of Georgia won the women’s race. Gilbert Kigen of Alabama – the host school – won the men’s race.

For more information on Buccaneer Cross Country, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the cross country pages. Follow ETSU cross country on Twitter @ETSU_TF_XC