Highest Poll Appearance Since 2013

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 30, 2017) – Fresh off their runner-up performance at the Southern Conference Championships last weekend, ETSU’s men’s cross country team has moved up in the rankings.

The Bucs are #12 in the new United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association South Region Week 6 poll, released Monday.

That’s up one spot from Week 5 and the highest ranking for ETSU this season. It’s the best showing in the USTFCCCA regional hierarchy since the Bucs were 12^th in the Week 6 poll in in 2013.

ETSU finished a solid second to Furman in the SoCon meet on Saturday, in Spartanburg, S.C. The Bucs scored 61 team points, ten better than 3^rd-place Samford, in their best showing since 2014. Furman, which is ranked 1^st in the USTFCCCA Southeast Region poll, captured its fifth consecutive conference title.

Five Bucs earned all-conference recognition Saturday. Freshmen Ben Varghese (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Noah Charles (Johnson City, Tenn.) and junior James Garst (Jonesborough, Tenn.) were named 2^nd Team All-SoCon after respectively finishing 9^th, 11^th and 12^th in the scoring.

“Noah Charles and James Garst ran the best races of their careers,” said Bucs head coach George Watts.

Varghese and Charles also earned spots on the All-Freshmen Team, joined by Louis Morris (Knoxville, Tenn.), who was 21^st overall, and Malick Gemechu (Johnson City, Tenn.), who finished 26^th.

Both ETSU teams are preparing for the NCAA South Region Championships, scheduled for Friday, November 10 at the Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The women’s 6K race begins at 10:00 am, with the men’s 10K race set for 11:00 am.

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