Sept. 1, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Kennesaw State will open the 2006 women's cross country season with a duel meet against Jacksonville State on Saturday morning at the Jacksonville Industrial Park.

Opening Day will begin at 9:30 a.m. when the women compete in a two-mile race. The men will precede the women's event with a 5000-meter race beginning at 9:00 a.m.

"It's good to get started with a strong team like Jacksonville State," said head coach Stan Sims. "We have a great number of newcomers and this will be a good indication of where we are with both our individual runners and as a team."

The women lost a pair of all-conference runners in Patrina Hayes and Magdalena Polko. However, the Owls do return A-Sun Freshman Runner of the Year in Erin Sutton.

"We have Erin who'll lead us on the women's side and combined with Kelly (Bloom), Kate (Brun) Catherine (Combs) and Barbara (Garner) we should be fine," added Sims. "We'll see if some of the freshman can also contribute."

The Gamecocks return seven women from last year's team while the KSU women bring in four freshmen.

Last season, the Jacksonville State women finished sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference while the KSU women's team captured the A-Sun title.