Sept. 20, 2001

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford Cross Country team gets back into action Friday when the team travels to Charlotte, N.C. for the Great American Shootout hosted by the Great American Sports association. The race will be run at Winthrop University.

The Bulldogs were expected to run last weekend's University of Alabama Invitational but the meet was cancelled due to the events which took place in the country one week ago. Friday's race will feature eight of the top 25 teams in the nation.

More than 30 teams including Wake Forrest, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, East Tennessee, South Carolina State, North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Appalachian State, UNC-Charlotte, Winthrop, BYU, Arkansas, North Carolina State, Duke, Furman, Georgia, Yale, South Carolina, MIchigan and the Naval Academy will run the course.

The men's 8K race will start at 7 p.m.(EST), and the women's collegiate race will start 7:30 p.m.(EST).

The Bulldog women's team finished second at the UTC Opener Aug. 31 while the men's team finished third. Brittney Mensen paced the women's team with a second place finish. Andrew Spear finished the 5K in 15:59 to finish ninth.

After Friday's race, the Bulldogs next race will be the Pre-NCAA Regional at UAB on Oct. 6.