Men's cross country team will be competing at Southern Showcase

The Eastern Florida State College men's cross country team will compete in the Southern Showcase Friday morning in Huntsville, Alabama.

The men's team will be one of 34 teams running at the John Hunt Cross Country Running Park which will host the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in November.

"It was a golf course originally and they designed a course that is really nice," Eastern Florida State College men's cross country coach Doug Butler said. "It has a downhill start and a downhill finish, so it has a net elevation drop. It is wide open, you don't really have to get off to a fast start because there are a lot of places to pass. The weather looks really good so when the course is dry it runs quick."

Some of the top NCAA Division I teams as well as some Division II and junior college teams will be competing in the event as the men's race will begin at 8:30 a.m.

"It is a huge field, everybody that is anybody is going from that region is going to be there, Alabama, Ole Miss, Auburn as well as the junior colleges like Calhoun Community College. You won't get better competition than this weekend," Butler said.

The men's team is coming off a sixth-place finish in the FAU Cross Country Invitational at South County Regional Park in Boca Raton.

"I am really happy with the workouts, Dayton is back but not quite 100 percent and Simon's back is better. With those two back we are almost at full strength and I am excited to see them because we are better than what we showed in the first meet," Butler said. "They are going to run with something to prove."

Friday's event will be the second of four meets before the postseason races for the Titans.