Men's Cross Country Looks to 2010 with Roster of Youthful Veterans

MACON, Ga. - Even though Mercer University men’s cross country head coach Ryan Bailey returns seven lettermen from his 2009 team, the veteran MU coach is still looking at a relatively young roster as the 2010 season unfolds.

The Bears – who finished seventh in last year’s Atlantic Sun Conference championship race – do not have a senior on their roster.  Bailey has four juniors and two sophomores among his returnees from last year, as well as another redshirt junior from 2008. A total of three freshmen will round out Bailey’s MU roster this season.

“We have a very young squad, but I think we are a little stronger, on average, in our top seven positions compared to last year,” surmised Bailey.  “I think freshmen Sony Prosper and Kasib Abdullah will both adapt to the 8K distance very well. I’m expecting the guys to demolish the former school record for the best team average.  Last year’s 26:55 at Louisville was a record and I think the guys this year will be all over that.”

As a freshman for the Bears’ team in 2009, now-sophomore Jacob Law became the Bears’ first All-A-Sun finisher since 2002 when he earned second-team all-conference accolades with his 14th place overall finish in a time of 26:50 for the 8K race. Law’s efforts also earned him A-Sun All-Freshman Team status, the first time an MU runner has been accorded that honor.

Law owns the Bears’ school marks for the fastest 5K race (16:03), 15th-fastest 8K time (26:41.1) and fifth-best 10K effort (33:57).

Juniors Nick Huguenard, Marc Kushinska, Chris Crook, Geremy Skeen and Andrew Jones    are all in their third seasons under Bailey.  Sophomores Andrew Weems and Chris Svidesskis will also provide depth on the roster. Kushinka has been a consistent point-scorer for the team during his career and is the Bears’ captain.

Svidesskis ran the school’s third-fastest 5K clocking (16:13) at South Carolina’s Gamecock Invitational and the 12th-best 8K time (26:32.8) at the Greater Louisville Invitational. He led the MU team in most 8K races during the regular season.

In all, the Mercer men have three newcomers to add in with the total of eight veterans entering the 2010 season.

The Bears will travel to the University of Georgia Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 4) with an 8 a.m. start time for the meet. The races will take place at the Equestrian Sports Complex in Bishop, Ga.