GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's cross country teams will open their 2023 seasons on Friday, Sept. 1 with competition at the Eye Opener in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The Pioneers will compete in four regular-season meets ahead of the South Atlantic Conference Championship on Saturday, Oct. 21 in Newton, North Carolina. The NCAA Division II Southeast Regional meet is Saturday, Nov. 4 in Oakwood, Georgia and the Division II Championship will be contested Saturday, Nov. 18 in Joplin, Mo.
Second-year head coach Robert T. Williams and assistant coach Sean Gosewisch have three starters returning for the women and two for the men heading into the 2023 season. The Tusculum women finished seventh and the men placed ninth out of 13 schools at last year's SAC Championship meet.
"We are bringing back a great core of returners who will continue providing leadership and guidance while ushering in a talented group of new student-athletes," said Gosewisch. "We look forward to improving our standing in the conference and forging ourselves into a competitive squad."
MEN'S PREVIEW
Senior Antonio Aparicio (Valencia, Spain) was 47th in the SAC Championship last year, his best finish in three previous championship events. Sophomore Jerry Ricker (Kingsport, Tenn.) was 64th in the SAC Championship last year.
Joining the program from Joliet Junior College is junior Ryan Drysch (Shorewood, Ill.), who placed 52nd at the NJCAA Division III championship and helped the team to a third-place finish. Junior Landen Locklear (Kingsport, Tenn.) is on the roster after running sprints and middle distance for the Pioneer track & field team for the past two seasons.
Three freshmen joining the roster this season are Simon Ray (Greeneville, Tenn.), Sam Shipp (Arnold, Mo.) and Pau Valdepenas (Sant Cugat Sesgarrigues, Spain). Ray was a state qualifier for South Greene High School as a junior, while Shipp was All-State as a senior at Fox High School. Valdepenas ran at Institut Nou de Vilafranca and was an All-State honoree.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Senior Emily Coddington (Acosta, Pa.) finished 29th at the SAC Championship and took 71st place at the NCAA Southeast Regional last season. Coddington was the winner at the Eli Cramer Invitational and had two more top 10 finishes, including second place at Walters State.
Senior Judy Chellah (Johnson City, Tenn.) was 49th overall at the SAC Championship, and turned in a 10th-place finish at Walters State. Sophomore Inmaculada Delgado (Seville, Spain) finished 58th overall at the SAC Championship, and had top-10 finishes at Walters State and Milligan.
Joining the program are junior Jasmeene Guido (Blue Island, Ill.) and sophomore Victoria Caliendo (Lake VIlla, Ill.). Guido ran for Moraine Valley Community College and competed at the NJCAA Division II Championship both years, while earning All-Conference and All-Region honors. Caliendo was a member of the track and field team at Upper Iowa, running primarily middle distance.
Junior Silvia Bah (Cary, N.C.) will run for the Pioneers this fall after competing in sprints for the track & field team during her first two years at Tusculum.
SCHEDULE
After running at the Eye Opener, the Pioneers will head to Morristown to run at Walters State on Saturday, Sept. 9. Tusculum will compete at the Akiah McMillan Invitational hosted by Columbia (S.C.) on Saturday, Sept. 30, followed by the Royals Challenge in Charlotte on Friday, Oct. 6 to finish the regular season ahead of the conference and regional meets.
