Sept. 9, 2005

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ---- The Samford University men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2005 season with strong performances at the UTC Opener in Chattanooga, Tenn., Friday night. The women's team took first place, while the men finished fourth.

"I was really excited with what I saw from both teams tonight," said Samford head coach Glenn McWaters. "It was a great early start to the season."

The Samford women won the meet in an impressive fashion with 22 points, while host UTC finished second with 38 points. The Bulldogs, who are the defending Ohio Valley Conference Champions, had seven runners finish in the top-ten.

Junior Katherine Herring was the top finisher, taking second place and running the two-mile course in 11:22. Sophomore Britney Almaguer finished one second behind Herring to take third with a time of 11:23. Senior Michelle Brewer finished fourth with a time of 11:29 and sophomore Robyn DeBenedet finished sixth with a time of 11:55. Redshirt freshman Julie Yonts also ran an 11:55 and rounded out the top five for Samford, with a seventh place finish.

Other Bulldog runners finishing in the top-10 were seniors Connie Heiskell and Jessica Brewer, who finished ninth and 10th, respectively. Heiskell ran a 12:02, while Jessica Brewer ran a 12:08.

"Our girls picked up right where they left off last year," McWaters said. "They showed that they're the team to beat in the South Region."

The men tied for fourth, scoring 120 points. Freshman Cameron Bean was Samford's top finisher, taking 13th, with a 15:54 on the 5K course. Sophomore Drew Anderwald finished 14th , also running a 15:54. Sophomore Michael Hanson ran a 16:19 to finish 25th and redshirt freshman Bo Brawner took 32nd with a 16:47. Freshman Joel Shaw rounded out the top five, finishing 36th with a time of 17:11.

"Our guys did really well, especially because they're so young," said McWaters. "It'll take them a while to gel, so what I saw tonight was encouraging."

The Bulldogs next head south to Tuscaloosa, Ala. for the Crimson Tide Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 17.