HAMPTON CROSS COUNTRY STARTS THIS WEEKEND
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Hampton University men’s and women’s cross country teams will open the 2008 season on Saturday in the Maryland-Eastern Shore Lid-Lifter Cross Country Open.
The Pirates didn’t compete in the UMES Lid-Lifter in 2007, instead taking part in the Lou Onesty Cross country Invitiational. The Lady Pirates finished second out of third teams at the UMES Lid-Lifter last season, with Jahlisa Smith (Plainfield, N.J.) finishing second overall with a 19:03.43.
Smith returns to this year’s Lady Pirates squad, and will be joined by senior Starema Flood (Upper Marlboro, Md.), junior Kenya Jones (Chesapeake, Va.) and senior Krystle Medlin (Clayton, N.C.). Benita Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa.) is the lone newcomer on coach Maurice Pierce’s squad.
Medlin was the 2006 MEAC cross country champion, while Jones, Smith and Jasmin Branch (Hampton, Va.) were All-MEAC performers last season.
“I’m expecting great stuff this year,” Pierce said. “We’re obviously going to be among the top two or three in cross country, but I feel with some of the girls we have coming back, we can win it like we’ve been doing on the track the past couple years.”
Yaphet Cross (Landover, Md.) and Brandon Lynch (Baltimore, Md.) are the only returners for the Pirates under first-year head coach Steven Lewis, while Daniel Edmund (Upper Marlboro, Md.), Kelvin Hux (Springsboro, Ohio) and Bruce Thompson (Virginia Beach, Va.) will make their Hampton debuts. Cross finished 32nd at the Norfolk State Invitational last season with a 33:17.00, while Lynch finished a season-best 22nd in the same event, running a 30:31.00.
The 2008 MEAC Cross Country Championships will be held Oct. 25 in Princess Anne, Md.
For more information on Hampton University cross country, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.
The original story was published here: http://www.hamptonpirates.com/News/mcross/2008/9/2/HAMCXM%20(9-02-08).asp?path=mcross
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