Historic Prater's. Mill will be the site of Dalton' State"s first-ever home cross country meet
The Dalton State women’s and men’s cross country teams begin their second season of competition this fall with the UT Chattanooga Poweraide Invitational at the Moccasin Bend course in Chattanooga.
The 2014 season will be the school’s first chance to compete for Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) titles.
The Roadrunners are also excited that this year’s schedule has a home event at Prater’s Mill in Varnell. “Prater’s Mill is a perfect venue for our first home meet,” said Dalton State co-cross country coach Andy Meyer. “We have several teams confirmed from as far away as South Carolina.”
Meyer says the Prater’s Mill race is set to start at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19. It will be 8k for men and 5 k for women.
The Sept. 5 season opening race in Chattanooga is shorter than most events. The men will run a 5k and the women will do a 2 mile run. Start time is set for 5:00 p.m.
The Roadrunners are set to run again this year in the Georgia College and State University Invitational in Milledgeville on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6:00 p.m. It will be 8k for men and 5k for women.
Cross country then moves to Saturday morning events that all feature 8k for men and 5k for women.
“Coach (Margie) Bruner and I have loaded the back end of our schedule with very hard meets and outstanding competition to prepare our teams for a run at the conference championship meet in Mississippi,” said Meyer,
Dalton State travels to Greenville, SC on Oct. 11 for 9:00 a.m. competition in the always tough Furman Invitational. “Furman has the very best teams across the Southeast,” said Meyer. “This includes several elite D1 programs.”
The Dalton cross country squads then head to Hilton Head, S.C. on Oct. 25 for the SandShark Invitational, sponsored by the University of South Carolina at Beaufort.
The 2014 SSAC Conference Championhips will be held this year on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Choctaw Trace near Clinton, Ms. The NAIA National Championship Meet will follow on Nov. 22 at Rim Rock Farms Lawrence, Ks.