BRONX, N.Y. – The Hampton University men's and women's cross country teams will travel to the Bronx this weekend for Saturday's ECAC/IC4A Division I Cross Country Championships at Van Cortlandt Park. It will be Hampton's last cross country meet of the season.

This will be the first year Hampton competes in the ECAC and IC4A Cross Country Championships. Both teams competed in the ECAC and IC4A indoor and outdoor track & field competitions last season shortly after the Lady Pirates joined the ECAC in February.

The Pirates and Lady Pirates last ran on Oct. 31, when both teams competed in the 2009 MEAC Championships. Junior Jahlisa Smith (Plainfield, N.J.) won the women's individual title, completing the 5K course in a personal-best 18:34.80 as the Lady Pirates finished fourth in the team standings. Smith earned All-MEAC honors, as did junior Jasmin Branch (11th – 19:24.62) and senior Kenya Jones (14th – 19:44.18).

The Pirates finished sixth in the team standings, with David Kimani (Kenya) coming in eighth overall with a 26:36.10. Kimani was the lone Pirate to earn All-MEAC honors. Freshman Berian White (Newark, Del.) also finished in the top 20 at the MEAC Championships, coming in 18th after completing the 8K course in 27:53.64.

Duke won the IC4A team championship last season, while Cornell won the ECAC title. Harvard's Nicole Cochran won the ECAC individual crown with a time of 18:04 last year, while Duquesne's Josh Eddy took the IC4A title after running a 25:11.

The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic conference and only multi-divisional conference, with 321 member institutions ranging across 16 states from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938 with 58 charter members, the ECAC has since emerged as the nationwide leader in service.

The conference also provides leadership assistance for numerous affiliate organizations including the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes in America (IC4A), Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA), Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC), Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges (EAWRC), Eastern Collegiate Rowing Association, Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) and the New England Rowing Association.

Hampton is the fourth MEAC institution to join the ECAC, joining Coppin State, Delaware State and Morgan State.

For more information on Hampton University cross country, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.