GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College cross country team will take part in several familiar meets, as well as a few new ones this season, announced new head coach Suzanne Byrd Monday with the release of the Pioneers' 2010 schedule. (Click here for full schedule)

Both Pioneer teams posted solid performances last season, including a pair of third-place finishes for each Harrier group at the Stampede at the Shoals and the Trailblazer Invitational. The men's team will be led by rising senior and 2009 South Atlantic Conference Runner of the Year Simon Holzapfel (Nuremburg, Germany), who won each of his first five meets last season, including the SAC Championship. The women's team will be led by senior team captain Jessica Figler (Merritt Island, Fla.), coming off a campaign in which she posted three top-20 finishes for the Pioneers.

Tusculum will kick off the season on Sep. 3 at the Stampede of the Shoals in Elizabethton, Tenn. The Pioneers return to action two weeks later at the Andrew Johnson Triangle Battle of the Creek, which takes place in Morristown, Tenn. on Sep. 18.

Coach Byrd's squad will participate in the Wingate Invitational on Sep. 25 in Wingate, N.C., giving the Pioneers a preview of the layout for the upcoming South Atlantic Conference Championship, hosted by the Bulldogs.

On Oct. 2, Tusculum will travel to Maryville, Tenn. for the Maryville Invitational. After a week off, the Pioneers will take part in the Trailblazer Invitational in Gray, Tenn. before competing in the SAC Championship on Nov. 6.

The NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship is scheduled for Nov. 20 in Charlotte, N.C. The NCAA II National Championship will be held on Dec. 4 in Louisville, Ky. as part of the Fall Sports Festival.

- TC -