MEN'S SCHEDULE / WOMEN'S SCHEDULE

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Head Coach Todd Smoot and the Valdosta State men's and women's cross country program are pleased to announce the schedule for the upcoming 2016 fall season, as well as the recruiting class of 2016.

"Our schedule this season includes challenging, competitive meets that will season our teams for the Gulf South Conference, the NCAA Regionals, and beyond," said Smoot. "Our recruiting class will impact the school and the teams upon their arrival. The combination of the established returning members along with the new team members should make for a fun and productive season."

The fall schedule kicks off on September 2nd with the Jacksonville State Meet in Oxford, Ala. and will serve as a prelude to Valdosta State's return to Valdosta, Ga., where the Blazers will host the highly anticipated Valdosta State Cross Country Meet on September 10th at Freedom Park within the friendly confines of Titletown, USA.

"There's excitement in the community about this event," added Smoot about the upcoming meet in Valdosta. "The course will be interesting and different from what it has been in years past, and a local meet will open up a lot of really great opportunies and possibilities for our program"

The Blazers and Lady Blazers, led by newly appointed team captains Jacinda Miller and Connor Dalrymple, return to the road on September 24th for the Mountain Dew UF event, scheduled to take place in Gainesville, Fla. The regular season schedule will wrap up with the Alabama-Huntsville Meet in Huntsville, Ala. on October 1st and the St. Leo Pre-Nationals Meet in North Tampa, Fla. on October 8th.

Postseason competition begins with the Gulf South Conference Tournament in Huntsville, Ala. on October 22nd and leads in to national competition at the NCAA DII South Region Championships on November 5th, followed by the NCAA National Championships on November 19th.

Helping navigate the schedule this fall are a host of exciting newcomers that Smoot believes will bring a new energy to the program. The 2016 recruiting class includes four women and three men, six of which are from Georgia and one of which comes to VSU from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Each of the new additions are listed below.

WOMEN
Name: Lily Kloepfer
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Previous School: St. Thomas Aquinas HS
Major: Nursing
About: Set a new 5K personal record time of 18:56 at the 2014 Foot Locker South Region event... Ran the FSU cross country course numerous times with times that included a 19:29 and 19:31... Other races in 2015 include the Nike Cross Country Southeast Regional (19:38) and the Florida District Championship (19:05)...

Name: Jamie Ford
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Locust Grove, Ga.
Previous School: Locust Grove HS
Major: Chemistry
About: Set a 5K personal record in 2015 with a 21:43 time at the 2015 Foot Locker South Region meet... Recently posted a 3200m personal record of 12:53 at the end of March 2016

Name: Laney Tomberlin
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Valdosta, Ga.
Previous School: Lowndes HS
Major: Exercise Physiology
About: Recently set a new 3200m personal record after running 13:29 in April of 2016

Name: Mary Alice Smoot
Class: Junior
Hometown: Valdosta, Ga.
Previous School: University of Tampa
Major: Business and Marketing
About: Ran a 20:18 5K at the 2014 Mountain Dew Invitational at the University of Florida for a new personal best...

MEN
Name: Gavin Childers
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Hoschton, Ga.
Previous School: Mill Creek HS
Major: Biology
About: Set new personal bests in the Spring of 2016 with a 9:32 3200m and a 4:28 1600m... In addition, posted a personal record in competition at the 2015 FSU Cross Country Invitational with a 5K time of 16:28...

Name: Andrew Elam
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Lowndes, Ga.
Previous School: Lowndes HS
Major: Biology
About: Delivered a personal best of 16:43 at the 2014 Foot Locker South Regional...

Name: Caleb Griffin
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Kennesaw, Ga.
Previous School: North Cobb HS
Major: Environmental Sciences
About: Ran a personal best at the 2013 Alexander/Asics Cross Country Invitational with a 5K time of 16:53...