In the teams' third season as a member of the South Atlantic Conference, and second under head coach Benny Morgan, both the men's and women's cross country teams look to make 2015 a big year.
"We moved up five places in the men's and four in the women's so we're definitely trying to continue that trend to continue moving up the ladder in the conference," said Morgan.
The Cobras have a mix of fresh faces and several key returners, including sophomores Noah Cook and Shauntel Smullen. Cook was recently named one of three captains on the men's squad. "He's going to come in and do some of what he did last year, which was shock the program and shock the conference," Morgan said of Cook. As a freshman he put together an outstanding campaign which included setting a school record in the 5k with a time of 16:17.
Morgan believes that the men's squad brings plenty of competition within the team, attributing the hard work of several of his runners. "I feel like our men should definitely be top five in the conference, if things go well and everyone stays healthy," said Morgan.
Smullen comes into her sophomore season after an outstanding freshman year in which she was named to the All-SAC honorable mention team and finished inside the top 30 in all of her races. "I think Shauntel will have a little bit more competition this year as far as leading; I think that's good because it will push her and make her better," said Morgan.
Morgan attributed much of the same hard work to his women's squad. Senior Hannah Weibel, sister of Noah Cook, returns as captain in 2015. "She is the rock of our team. She led the team two years ago, and she's back to finish her career," said Morgan.
The teams welcome a combined 12 freshmen who will be called upon to make an immediate impact. "They're all battling for that top seven, and I think some definitely will surprise us more than others," Morgan said of his freshmen.
The men's team is slated at seventh in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason poll, while the women were voted in eighth. "I don't want to pick a number but we definitely want to feel like both are top seven teams," said Morgan.
The teams open the 2015 campaign on September 5, at Columbia International University for the CIU Invitational.