Oct. 11, 2007

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State men's cross country team will be back in action this Saturday as they travel to Alabama to participate in the Jacksonville State University Foothills Invitational, held at the Jacksonville Industrial Park. In the second to last race of the season the team will be led by reigning Atlantic Sun Conference's Runner of the Week Peikko Solla.

The Owls (82-11) are coming off of a strong outing at the Disney World Cross Country Classic. Running in drenching rain and ankle high mud the team was able to come together as they finished in third place. Solla had a season high performance as he finished the 8k race with a time of 25:44.22. Teammates Michael Johnson (26:20.59) and Maxwell Ndungu (26:37.80) also had solid performances as they both posted good finishes in poor conditions. Freshmen Piotr Witczak and Matteo DiCecco also contributed to the Owls final score.

This week, the men are returning to familiar territory as they journey to Jacksonville State for the second time this season. At the JSU Opener in September, the team finished second overall in a competitive 5k race. Now the team looks to improve their record as a hardened core of veterans and freshmen make their return to Jacksonville.

"Our men have steadily improved over the season," said head coach Stan Sims. "This is a completely different team from one that started in September. Our freshmen have really come around in the past few weeks and I'm confident that they can make a difference come Saturday."

The men's five mile race will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will be followed by the women's race at 9:45 a.m.