The Stetson University men's and women's cross country teams will hit the course for the first time this season at the UNF Invitational on Saturday morning at the UNF Golf Course in Jacksonville. The men will compete in an 8K race at 7:30 a.m. while the women will compete in a 5K race at 8:15 a.m.
The race will serve as a conference preview as UNF will also host the Atlantic Sun Championships on Oct. 30.
“We are very excited to get going," Stetson head coach Joe Matuszczak said. "We are starting this season better than we have ever before, so it's exciting to see that. Plus, it's also exciting to see the other coaches in conference realizing that we are up and coming and giving us some preseason ranking. We're not going to go all out this weekend, but we are going to put a good effort out there and see where we stand against six conference schools.”
On the men's side, the Hatters return six letterwinners from last season, including seniors Austyn Finnk, Ryan Hodgins, and Andrew Townes.
"It's actually kind of crazy; our team is significantly better than when I came here as a freshman," Townes said. "Our No.1 runner my freshman year ran a 27:45. This year, we've got four runners poised to run under that time. I'm just looking forward to seeing the whole team go. I am ready to get racing.”
Also returning are juniors Joe Beery and Ryan Newfrock, and sophomore Drew Denson. Beery, the 2014 Atlantic Sun Scholar Athlete of the Year and a CoSIDA Academic All-American, and Denson finished in the top two on the team in all eight races last season.
The Hatters welcome four newcomers - Matthew Babikow, Ricky Cupoli, Brendan Hessler, and Andrew Thompson - who Matuszczak says may make an immediate impact in team scoring.
"Our men's team has improved significantly with our incoming freshman, of which two or three of them may be in our top six," Matuszczak said. "They are already contributing to scoring and making our team stronger overall.”
On the women's side, the Hatters will be led by a quartet of seniors - Jessica Cosgrove, Adrienne DeVita, Rachel Dumas, and Trixi Menge.
"I'm looking forward to see how we do as a team, how we work together and how people improve," DeVita said. "The top five have gotten a lot faster over the summer, so it's pretty exciting. I think our team can make great strides this year.”
The Hatters also return juniors Clarissa Consol and Daniella Godenzi and sophomore Rachel Frankenberger. Consol and DeVita were the top finishers on the team in all eight events last season and combine for the top four fastest 8K times in school history.
"We have people bridging the gap to Clarissa," Matuszczak said. "If you followed Clarissa last year, you know she's a school record holder, but we have people clawing closer and closer towards her. In fact, part of our strategy this weekend is to have a front-running pack."
Also joining the program this year are juniors Brianne Boldrin and Laurie Scott, and freshmen Catherine Hessler, Malina Morales, and Maya Sherman.
For the latest information on the cross country team all season long, follow the Stetson cross country twitter account and sign up for the HatCheck text messaging system.
