Hatters Ready to Race at the FGCU Invitational

FGCU INVITATIONAL
Site: Fort Myers, Fla., Buckingham Community Park
Men: 8K, 8:00 AM
Women: 5K, 9:00 AM
Participating Teams: Stetson, FGCU, USF, Liberty

Fresh off a strong season-opening performance at the FAU Invitational last week, the Stetson men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the FGCU Invitational Saturday morning at Buckingham Park in Fort Myers, Fla.

The men will run their first 8K of the year at 8 a.m. while the women will compete in a 5K at 9 a.m. The race will also serve as the ASUN Preview race as FGCU will host the conference championships at the same location on Nov. 2.

"The whole reason we are here is to preview the course," Stetson head coach Bryan Harmon said. "The conference meet is the most important race of the season. The first two years I was here, we went up to USC Upstate and we went up to Kennesaw State for the preview race. We always want to be mindful of what the course is all about and take away as much as we can. If you go back to that Upstate meet, previewing that course is really what helped Joe Beery become the first ever all-conference athlete we ever had. We really analyzed that course to a deep level, so we will get a good taste tomorrow."

Last week at FAU, the men took home a first-place finish as the Hatters put five runners in the top eight individual finishers. In his collegiate debut, Joey Tolman finished in second place overall with a school-record time of 15:24. He then earned ASUN Freshman of the week honors on Wednesday. Junior Melanie Pacheco led the Stetson women with a time of 20:27 as the Hatters placed seventh.

Stetson will be making their first appearance at Buckingham Park since competing in the 2012 ASUN Championships. Arye Beck (Estero, Fla.), Maricel Esquilin (Bonita Springs, Fla.) and Alexa Roughton (Punta Gorda, Fla.) will be competing near their hometowns. Results can be found at GoHatters.com following the meet.

Saturday will mark the second event of the season for the Hatters. Up next, the women will race in Charlotte, N.C. on Sept. 27, and the men will compete on Oct. 5 in Louisville, Ky.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Joe Beery: Senior

Arye Beck: Junior

Melanie Pacheco: Junior

Joey Tolman: 6' 0"; Freshman

Maricel Esquilin: Freshman

Alexa Roughton: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Joe Beery
: Senior

Arye Beck
: Junior

Melanie Pacheco
: Junior

Joey Tolman
: 6' 0"; Freshman

Maricel Esquilin
: Freshman

Alexa Roughton
: Freshman

Stetson University Athletics

Scoreboard

Tickets, donate, shop

Hatters Ready to Race at the FGCU Invitational

Players Mentioned

Joe Beery

Arye Beck

Melanie Pacheco

Joey Tolman

Maricel Esquilin

Alexa Roughton

Players Mentioned

Joe Beery

Arye Beck

Melanie Pacheco

Joey Tolman

Maricel Esquilin

Alexa Roughton