Three Pioneers to compete at NCAA Southeast Regionals

Holzapfel seeks All-Region status for third straight year

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Two-time defending South Atlantic Conference Men's Runner of the Year Simon Holzapfel will join teammates Ryan Badertscher and Jenny Grant at the 2010 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships, to be held Saturday at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N.C. and hosted by Queens University of Charlotte. The men's 10-kilometer race starts at 10:00 a.m., followed by the women's 6-kilometer competition at 11:15 a.m.

Holzapfel, a senior from Nuremburg, Germany, has won all six meets in which he has competed this season, including his second consecutive SAC individual championship, and has finished ninth in the regional meet in each of the last two years to claim All-Region status. He will attempt to become the third runner in school history, and the first male runner, to qualify for the Division II national meet.

Badertscher, a freshman from Marion, Ohio, is coming off a personal-best performance in the 8,000 meters at the SAC Championships, where he was clocked at 29:01 to finish in 53rd place. He has four top-30 finishes this season, including a fourth-place performance at the Maryville Invitational on October 2.

Grant, a sophomore from Franklin, Tenn. and a graduate of Battle Ground Academy, will compete in the women's race after leading the Pioneers at the conference meet with a 44th-place finish over the 5,000-meter race. She had the team's fastest time at the Carson-Newman Challenge on September 18 and placed 11th at the Maryville Invitational.

The NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, December 4 at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky in conjunction with the NCAA Division II Fall Sports Festival.