Cougar Cross Country Set for CAA Championships in Delaware

Saturday, October 29

White Clay State Park - Newark, Del.

11:00 AM

College of Charleston

CAA Cross Country Championship

Photo by: Jeremy Fleming

Cougar Cross Country Set for CAA Championships in Delaware

10/28/2016 12:59:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

CAA XC Championship Central Facebook Live Stream

By: Chris Chandler, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston cross country program climbs onto the conference stage this Saturday, as the Cougars will travel to White Clay State Park in Newark, Del. to take part in the CAA Championships starting at 10 a.m.

The men's team comes off a fifth-place finish in 2015, and will look to take a step forward this time out. The women on the other hand finish fourth last year, which was the highest finish at a conference race for the Cougars during the Amy Seago coaching era.

For the second straight season, the men's squad will look to Crew Kosiorek to pace them through a challenging conference field as the junior has finished first among his teammates on three occasions this year. Freshmen Hayden DiBona and Sam Beattie have both been hot on Kosiorek's heels, particularly in recent weeks, and the trio will likely finish 1-2-3 for the Cougars in some order. Jack Beattie, Grant Gauthier, Josh Tierney and Logan Veatch will all vie for the final two scoring roles for the College come Saturday.

On the women's side, Tori Churchill has blossomed in her junior year to lead the Cougars as their top finisher in every single race this season. Sophomore Ellen Feringa has had a similar leap this season, while Carlee Cassidy and Marissa Small-Towns have provided consistent scoring roles as well. Senior Cara Butcher may very well be the X-factor for CofC, as Butcher was the standout for the Cougars last season, but has battled her way through injury through the cross country campaign. Hannah Lopez and Emma Jennings will both be in the mix as well.

Saturday will mark the first time the Cougars have ever visited Delaware for cross country.

"Hearing what others have said about this course, there are some hills that we need to be prepared for," head coach Amy Seago said. "I think more than anything, being strong mentally is going to be a big deciding factor for us."

The men's 8K race is slated to kick things off at 10 a.m., followed by the women's 6K race at 11 a.m. The Colonial Athletic Association will stream the race live on Facebook.