GEORGETOWN, Texas - Twenty-four men and women runners have been up with the sun to train for the start of the 2012 season that looks to be one of the most successful in recent history for Head Coach Francie Larrieu Smith.

The Pirates return eight runners on the men's side, including the Pirates' strongest returner senior Sam Martinez, who is looking to have his best season yet after three outstanding previous years. "Sam spent the summer training in Albuquerque, N.M. and I can't wait to see how that plays out this season," says Larrieu Smith.

Juniors Lando Duarte and Thomas Bobbitt also return to the fold after taking some time off last season, a move that will undoubtedly help strengthen the Pirates. Along with injuries that have been resolved and newcomer Alex Medrano, Larrieu Smith is confident that her top six men will be pretty solid. "In the past we have typically had four strong and then been searching for that fifth, but this season will be a different story."

The women's side boasts one of the largest teams Southwestern has seen with 15 members to start the season. Junior Lilly Duarte will lead the way for the Pirates while three seniors, Jillian Curran, Christina Hadly, and Laura Wooden, will provide experience to this young squad. In addition to the returners, three  first-years are expected to make contributions and push the returners throughout the season. "The newcomers will really help with the depth of the team," says Larrieu Smith. "They will really challenge our returners and could shake-up the line-up some."

Southwestern opens the season on September 1^st as they head to the University of Dallas for the UD Cross Country Invitational. The meet will serve as a preview to the SCAC Championship course held on October 27^th. "We have been there in the past , but haven't competed (at UD) in a couple of years," states Larrieu Smith. "It is a challenging, hilly course and will present some unique challenges to the runners that they don't often have to think about.  It will be a great opportunity for us to figure out what we need to do for the Championship meet."

Following the UD meet the Pirates head south to at UTSA. As a 5K distance for both the men and the women Coach Larrieu Smith hopes that it will be an opportunity for the runners to test their limits. "I like the idea of running the short, faster races as it really helps them to tackle a distance that they are comfortable with from high school," shares Larrieu Smith. "They can be a little more aggressive and work on their speed and turnover early on in the season without having to worry about recovery. I know there will be some DIII schools there and it will really benefit our runners to face some DI and DII competition as well."

This year, the Pirates will travel to Atlanta, Ga. to compete in the South/Southeast Regional Championships on a course that they are unfamiliar with which will pose another challenge to SU. "Atlanta courses are always tough and I have never been to a meet hosted by Emory that wasn't challenging, but it will also be a fair course and it is in our peak cycle," states Larrieu Smith. "It is always fun to go and compete against the best teams in our region and we pare down to our top seven for that meet so it really creates some good healthy competition amongst team members."

This is the first year for the new SCAC membership and Coach Larrieu Smith is excited for the new challenges it presents. "The new conference is different but will be fun for our athletes to get to compete against some different schools and begin to forge a new path and new direction for our championship events."