CANTON – The 2014 men's cross country team will look to continue its recent success as the team returns five runners, while five new faces are welcomed to the team this fall.

Head Coach John Kennedy, in his sixth year at the helm, lost two of his top five runners from a season ago, but five new fresh faces will look to fill the void.

Freshmen Matthew Lindke, Josh May and Ryan Teal hope to make immediate impacts in their first collegiate seasons of cross country, while sophomore Tosin Olajuyi and senior Austin Johnston will be making their first appearances on the trails for the Roos. Johnston formerly competed on the men's soccer team at SUNY Canton.

Returning runners to the roster include Bryant Cotey, Shawn Deibel, Andrew Wilson and top harrier from a season ago and team captain, Tom Lauzon.

Sophomore Shawn Deibel was a top 5 runner for SUNY Canton a season ago."We are looking forward to another great fall running season," Coach Kennedy said. "Following our second annual Kangaroo Invitational on August 30th we will be going back to many of our favorite invitationals this season including Johnson State where we were first place out of five teams last year. We will also return to Southern Vermont College and Castleton State, where we posted two second place finishes in 2013."

Instead of sticking with all of their normal races the Roos have decided to try out a new course at the James Earley Invitational in Westfield, MA on October 11.

"Reportedly the course is a bit flatter than the hilly races we run in northern New York and Vermont; it should be good for posting some fast times," Kennedy noted.

Following the James Earley Invitational the Roos will compete at the CCOC Championships on the campus of Hobart & William Smith College on October 18, before the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championships in early November in Syracuse, NY.

"Both the men's and women's teams are looking great as we finish up an amazing preseason week," Kennedy said. "This year we put a lot of effort into teambuilding during preseason. We did some great off-campus trail runs in the Adirondack foothills and brought the team up to the cottage for a day of running, swimming, grilling and lots of fun. The end result is a team that seems to be more bonded and dedicated than ever before. You couldn't ask for a better group of runners."

The men's and women's teams will be kicking off their seasons on Saturday in the Second Annual Kangaroo Invitational.

"It should be a great race with teams from SUNY Plattsburgh, Johnson State College, Clarkson University and SUNY Potsdam attending," Kennedy said.

The men will have a shotgun start at 11 a.m. followed by the women's race at 12 p.m.