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 The Western Carolina men and women's cross country teams will compete in the Southern Conference Championships on Saturday morning in Elon, N.C. |
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Oct. 30, 2009
Southern Conference Championships Roster Program 
Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina men and women's cross country teams travel to Elon, N.C. on Saturday for the Southern Conference Championships hosted by Elon University. The men will race in the 8K at 10:00 a.m. with the women following in the 5K at 10:45 a.m.
This year's event will be streamed live on SoCon.TV for a fee. The live stream will feature the men's and women's races along with the awards presentation and many other added features. Fans will get to watch interviews with student-athletes and coaches along with live commentary throughout the races. Fans can register online at SoConSports.com.
The Southern Conference Championships are a precursor to the Southeast Regional which will be held in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, Nov. 23.
"When we first started at the beginning of the season, we wanted every week to be a building block off the previous one with the final the buildup to the Southern Conference Championships then to the NCAA regional's," said Catamounts coach Danny Williamson.
The Western Carolina women will make their fourth run in the 5K event this season. The highest finish for the Catamounts was a fourth place finish in the Winthrop Asics Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. on Sept. 19. In the last 5K event of the regular season, WCU finished seventh in the Blue Ridge Open hosted by Appalachian State.
Of the three previous 5K events this season, junior Jordan Gaddy has been the top finish for the Catamounts. Gaddy's best mark this season was a time of 18:30.03 (23rd) in the Charlotte Invitational on Oct. 2. Senior Lindsay Groce was the top WCU finisher in the Blue Ridge Open with a time of 19:11.13 (22nd).
The Catamount men also will participate in their fourth 8K event of the year. Western Carolina placed third in the Winthrop Asics Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. WCU placed ninth in the Blue Ridge Open with 235 points.
Josey Weaver, a sophomore from Weaverville, N.C., has been the top finisher for the Cats in two of the three 8K events. Weaver's best finish in the 8K was at the Charlotte Invitational on Oct. 2 where he finished with a time of 25:31.04 (14th). Senior Stephen Hammond set a personal record of 25:18.03 for ninth in the Charlotte Invitational.
Coach Williamson says he has seen strong progress in the team's running abilities, "When we first started out we knew this would be a work in progress. We wanted them to get better after every week. We feel like we have done a very good job and we are seeing the progress."
Live coverage of the event can be accessed online at SoConSports.com and CatamountSports.com.
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