Coming Home
The Chanticleers will run their second meet of the season this Saturday from the Quail Creek Golf Club. A 5k race is scheduled, starting at 8 a.m. from the 18th green.

Johnson Off to Fast Start
Freshman Christian Johnson opened up her collegiate career with an individual crown in the Gamecock Invitational on Aug. 29. For her efforts, she was named Big South Runner of the Week for the week ending Aug. 31.

Take Two
The Chants had the top two overall finishers in the first meet of the year, the Gamecock Invitational. With Johnson taking the individual title, sophomore Shelby Donahue finished second,  less than six second behind the freshman.

Coastal Carolina Invitational
The Chants will enter eight runners into the meet, with newcomer Mia Wyszynski making her Coastal Carolina debut, while senior Keli Jo White and sophomore Maranie Staab will make their season debuts.

The Competition
Schools competing in the fourth Coastal Carolina Invitational are Concord University, UNC Wilmington, USC-Beaufort, and USC-Aiken.

Chants Second in Preseason Poll
Coastal Carolina garnered 93 points and three-first place votes to place second in the annual Big South Conference Preseason Poll for the second-consecutive year. Defending champion Liberty took the top spot with 97 points and seven first-place votes.

Looking Ahead
The Chants will next be in action on Sat., Sept. 20 as it heads to the Big South Conference Preview in Lynchburg, Va.

Meet Preview

The Coastal Carolina women’s cross country team, who won the invitational in 2005 and 2007, return a pair of 2007 All-Big South honorees in junior Theresa Schamberger and Mariane Staab. Schamberger finished third a year ago in the 2007 Invitational behind teammates Diana Jepchirchir and Felicitas Mensing, while Staab finished fifth.

Five athletes who participated in last year’s race return, as sophomores Joyce Curtin placed 11th and Shelby Donahue placed 12th. Junior Kelli Jo White was 14th, sophomore Peggy Busbee was 18th, and Kathryn Zenowitz placed 23rd.  “Our top seven should be very strong, and we will have lots of quality depth,” Head Coach Alan Connie said. “Three of our newcomers Mia Wyszynski, Santresa Jamison and Christian Johnson should be able to contribute early on and become top runners for us.”

Connie’s returning core shows great promise, as fellow Big South Coaches picked Coastal Carolina second in the 2008 Big South Preseason Poll, and will enter the season with a chip on their shoulder after consecutive runner-up finishes the past two seasons. The Chants missed out on the Big South Team Championship by less than five points in 2006 and 2007, after previously winning the championship in consecutive campaigns from 2001-2005.