Bison Gear Up for MEAC Cross-Country Championship
By Ashley Bryant
Special to howard-bison.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
The 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Cross-Country
Championship kicks off Saturday Oct. 31 at the University of
Maryland Eastern Shore.
Last year, the host Hawks won the women's
race with their second consecutive MEAC championship win,
finishing with an average time of 18:55.92; The Hawks finished 65
points ahead of the Lady Bison, who finished in fourth place in the
course with an average time of 19:38.34.
Lady Bison Ashley Hodges holds the second highest conference time
in the 2009 MEAC's top performer's list, finishing with a time of
18:35.46 in the UMES Cappy Anderson Invite.
For the men, an average time of 26:09.09 helped the Norfolk State
Spartans win the MEAC championship last year; the Spartans finished
80 points ahead of the Bison men, who placed fourth with an average
time of 28:07.07.
The men have three of the top 20 finishes in the MEAC this season:
Thurman Sanders placed 10th highest in the conference with 26:48.20
at the JMU Open Invite; Michael Gallion is 14th overall with a
time of 27:07.00 at the Mason Invitational and Richard Williams
placed 20th on the list with 27:40.20 at the JMU Open Invite.
The women begin the event with a five-kilometer (5K) run at 9:45
a.m., while the men will put their best foot forward at 10:30 a.m.
in the eight-kilometer (8k) run. The University of Maryland Eastern
Shore is located on One Backbone Road in Princess Anne, Maryland;
the event is free and open to the public.