Sept. 13, 2002

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Samford men's cross-country followed up its victory at the UT-Chatanooga Moccasin Invite last weekend with a second-place showing at the NCAA South Preview meet hosted by the University of Tennessee. "This finish says a lot about the ability to compete in the very difficult South Region," coach Glenn McWaters said. "We can take this finish and build from it."

The Bulldogs, with 69 points, finished second only to Tennessee (22 points). Samford was led by sophomore Mark Rowe's 9th-place finish. Rowe covered the 8,400 meter (5.25 mile) course in 27:12. Senior Brett Baddorf placed 12th (27:16). Sophomore Bryan Baddorf was 17th, freshman Andrew Middleton was 20th, and freshman Brad Polley was 27th.

Belmont finished in third place with 75 points, and East Tennessee State was fourth (99 points).

The Bulldog women's cross-country team finished fourth with 119 points, behind Tennessee (31 points), Vanderbilt (60) and UT-Chatanooga (64). Freshman Michelle Brewer led the Bulldogs, finishing in 17th place (19:30).

Junior Brittney Mensen led for a portion of the race but was forced to withdraw due to a sinus infection.

"The course ran extremely slow today," McWaters said. "It was difficult out there."

The other scorers for the Bulldog women were Jessica Brewer (20th place, 19:53), Erin Geisa (25th place), Jessica Jansen (32nd place) and Connie Heiskell (33rd).