CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern concludes its 2015 season on Saturday at the Big South Cross Country Championships in Spartanburg. Senior Jessie Dotson will look to lead the Bucs in her final conference race, and teammates Hannah Palm and Kaitlyn Keene will try to help the coach for assistant coach for distance and jumps Sirena Williams. The 5k race begins at 11:30 a.m.
Dotson posted an impressive 25th place showing at last season's Big South Championships, running in 19:24.93. She has led the Bucs in four of the six races this fall, and posted a season-best effort of 19:27.9 to finish 33rd at the Royals XC Challenge.
"My main goal is just to finish the best I ever have at conference before," Dotson said. "We ran there last year. It's a really good course. It's got a few hills in it but it's all grass and a single loop course. It's a really nice course. We've used that week of rest to mentally prepare for conference and to rest and just focus on finishing strong."
Palm ran strong in the October 16 Wake Forest Cross Country Invitational, completing the 6k course in a team-best 24:25.5. The junior from Largo, Fla. was CSU's second-best finisher in the Big South Championships of 2014, an event run amidst snow and 30-degree temperatures. Palm ran in 20:44.46 last year.
CSU sophomore Kaitlyn Keene has shown marked improvement from her freshman campaign, and will hope to finish off her year on a strong note. Keene recorded a season-best time of 20:49.2 in CSU's last 5k event, the Royals XC Challenge.
High Point is the defending Big South champion. The Panthers edged Liberty and Radford last year.
