ORLANDO, Fla. - Mackenzie Howe remained undefeated in 2009, and her teammates followed her winning ways, as the Kennesaw State Owls beat out 29 other teams on Saturday morning at the Walt Disney World Cross Country Classic to snag their third victory of the season.

The 5k meet, held at the Walt Disney World Wide World of Sports, featured teams from around the United States, and posed a challenge to Stan Sims’ squad, which was competing for the first time since September 26th.

Howe moved to the front of the pack early, and eventually separated herself along with one other runner at the front. She led by several strides going into the final 100 meters, and had a strong kick at the end to ensure victory. Her time of 18:07.6 took first place by about two seconds.

“I thought my time could have been a little quicker, but with the sandy surface of the course and the high temperature and humidity, it effected how quick we could run,” said Howe, who parlayed her experience at this meet in 2008, when she finished fourth, into a victory on Saturday. “One runner was able to stay with me most of the way, so knowing the course, and where I needed to save energy for a final kick, really helped me. I knew this would be a tough meet, and I’m glad I was able to come out of it with a win.”

The Owls got a huge boost, perhaps for their conference aspirations as well, with the return of Erin Sutton. Sutton, a senior, is a former All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection, and hasn’t competed this season due to injury. With this being her first race back, her eighth place finish and time of 19:09 was very encouraging.

“Today was a real wake-up call. Being injured, I haven’t been able to train as hard as everyone else,” said Sutton, who had not competed in a cross-country race since 2007 since she red-shirted last season. “When it was time to race, I put out of my mind the fact that I still have a lot of work to do with my conditioning, and just ran as hard as I could. Everything is different for me when I’m competing, it’s not about what I’ve done the week before, it’s what I can do right then.”

The Black and Gold finished ninth last year in Orlando, so this was a big improvement for the program, and head coach Stan Sims definitely took note of that.

“Having Erin back was so huge for us today. Between Mackenzie, Erin, and Britany (Reily), we now have an incredibly solid top-three,” Sims said. “I’m really encouraged by how Lorena Jaime has done in the last couple of meets, including today. It will be herself, Soibhan Wolcott, Caitlin German, Kristen Gibson, and Katie Charles that will determine what we can do at the conference meet. The deeper we continue to be as a team, the harder it will be for our opponents to pick up points on us.”

The Owls will take to the course once again on October 23rd, when they host the KSU Owl Invitational, which be held at Noonday Park in Kennesaw. The Atlantic Sun Championship will be held the following week in DeLand, Fla.

Individual Results

1. Mackenzie Howe- 18:07.60

8. Erin Sutton- 19:09.40

13. Britany Reily- 19:24.90

31. Caitlin German- 20:04.20

34. Kristen Gibson- 20:09.00

71. Soibhan Wolcott- 21:01.60

72. Lorena Jaime- 21:02.30

100. Katie Charles- 21:31.40

Team Results

1 Kennesaw State- 79 pts

2 Central Florida- 83 pts

3 IPFW 107 pts

4 Florida Atlantic 116 pts

5 Milligan 143 pts

6 Miami (Fla.) 193 pts

7 Fla. Southern 241 pts

8 Conn. College 265 pts

9 Fla.Tech 268 pts

10 Cleveland St. 388 pts

11 Nova S.E. 399 pts

12 Anderson 408 pts

13 Florida Int'l 416 pts

14 Clayton State 417 pts

15 Cuyahoga CC 422 pts

16 N.C. Central 464 pts

17 Mercer 482 pts

18 Psc. Hern. CC 509 pts

19 South Florida 535 pts

20 WS State 562 pts

21 C.W. Post 571 pts

22 Tampa 578 pts

23 Saint Leo 592 pts

24 TAMU Int'l 630 pts

25 USC- Beaufort 644 pts

26 Flagler 647 pts

27 Warner South. 655 pts

28 PB Atlantic 694 pts

29 Paine 868 pts

30 Fla. College 902 pts