Charleston, S.C. – The College of Charleston men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the first of five regular season meets Saturday at the Buccaneer Open hosted by Charleston Southern. The women's 4K race is at 9 a.m. followed by the men's 6K at 9:30 a.m.
The Citadel joins The College and CSU in the women's portion of the meet, and The Citadel and Savannah State will be part of a four-team men's field.
The Cougar men, coming off a fourth-place finish at the Colonial Athletic Association Meet last fall, return eight runners led by juniors Hayden DiBona and Sam Beattie and sophomore Declan Hines. DiBona made the All-CAA team last year by finishing seventh at the conference meet, and Hines fell just short by placing 13th.
"Hayden is a very steady performer who does well under pressure, and we expect him to improve upon last year's finish," said Amy Seago, who enters her 16th season as head coach of the Cougar cross country and track and field programs. "Declan made huge gains in the spring, and Sam has put in the work to give him the best opportunity to be successful."
Senior Grant Gauthier, juniors Jack Beattie (Sam's twin brother) and Evan Peirce and sophomores Tyler Fish and William McCann also return.
"Grant came back in good shape and did great in his workouts this fall. I expect him to finish his career with a bang," said Seago. "Evan has been a steady contributor but has been held back by injuries. He has put in the mileage and should make another breakthrough this year. Jack also came back focused with a drive to compete and prove himself.
"In a lot of ways Tyler is the heart of the team. He is very motivated and put in a lot of hard work over the summer. His desire to get better and help the team improve are intangibles that will prove beneficial over a long season. William was hurt most of last year but has put in the mileage to give him the base to propel him to the next level."
A trio of freshmen including Nick Rienzo, Ryan Moosbrugger and Jack Wedge round out the 2018 Cougar roster.
"Nick comes from a strong high school program and knows what it takes to win," said Seago. "Ryan is a tough kid who competed in the state track and field meet in the spring despite a stress fracture, and we expect him to be able to crack the top five this year. Jack proved he was ready from the moment he stepped on campus and has transitioned nicely to the college level."
The women return their top two runners from last year in sophomores Tess Masselink and Cate Ambrose. Masselink just missed out on All-CAA honors last fall by placing 13th at the conference meet while Ambrose finished 22nd. Masselink was also 69th at the NCAA Southeast Regional Meet.
"Tess and Cate work well together and motivate each other," said Seago. "We should get a lot from these two as we look to move up in the CAA."
Senior Jace Kosiorek is the veteran of what is a young squad that includes junior Hannah Farmer, who starred in soccer in high school but has never competed in cross country, sophomore Eileen Vedder and freshmen Jasmine Smith, Kristen Cherry, Emma DeRoberts and Laurie Fogleman.
"We counted on Jace last year, and she stepped up with some solid performances. Her higher volume of work this fall combined with her self-motivation should add up to a good year," said Seago. "Hannah has a strong background in running, and we expect big things from her. Eileen was injured for most of last season but has come back strong and is doing things in workouts I've never seen from her."
The freshmen will be relied on to provide scoring and have been impressive during their fall workouts.
"Jasmine and Kristen come from high school programs in which they didn't put in a lot of miles but more consistency should equate to huge improvements during the course of the season," said Seago. "Emma battled injury issues last year but is well on her way back. Laurie was mostly a sprinter in high school and is still working on increasing her distance."
