Lions Picked as SAC Favorite

ROCK HILL, S.C.—After winning 16-consecutive South Atlantic Conference Championships, Mars Hill's men's cross country team has been tabbed by league coaches as the favorite to win the SAC title in a poll released Thursday. Five Lions were named to the Preseason All-SAC team.

The Lions earned 121 points in the poll and received 11 first-place votes. Mars Hill will be seeking its 17th-consecutive conference title this season. Alex Griggs, Cesar Reyes and Brady Adcock were named Preseason First-Team All-SAC, while Carter Benge and Kiel Bollero garnered second-team honors. MHU will open its season Sep. 6 at the Eye Opener in Spartanburg, S.C. Race time is set for 6:30 p.m. Mars Hill will host the SAC Championships this year in Black Mountain, N.C. on Oct. 26.

Griggs and Reyes return as All-Region performers for the Lions. The two runners placed second and third respectively at last season's SAC Championship meet. Griggs went on to run the 16th-best time by a freshman in the nation at the NCAA Championships and was a two-time SAC Runner of the Week.

Adcock placed seventh at last season's SAC Championship to earn First-Team honors. The senior was Mars Hill Athletics' Man of the Year for his excellence on the race course and in both the classroom and community.

Benge and Bollero were each earned Second-Team All-SAC honors last season for their performances in the SAC Championship. Benge placed 10th in the race, while Bollero finished 13th.

Mars Hill is ranked 5th in the Southeast Region in the USTFCCCA Preseason Poll.

Wingate was the lone other team to receive a first-place vote in the SAC Preseason Poll. The Bulldogs placed second at last-season's SAC Championship.

The complete SAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll and Preseason All-SAC Teams are listed below.

2013 SAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
Place. Team- Votes (First-Place votes)
1. Mars Hill- 121 (11)
2. Wingate – 111 (1)
3. Lenoir-Rhyne- 97
4. Lincoln Memorial- 80
5. Brevard- 78
6. Queens- 76
7. Anderson- 74
8. Tusculum- 47
9. Newberry- 34
10. Catawba- 30
11. Coker- 27
12. Carson-Newman- 17

SAC Men's Cross Country Preseason All-Conference
Player, Team

First Team
Steve Hammond, WU
Alex Griggs, MHU
Cesar Reyes, MHU
David Cooper, TC
Bradley Maldonado, LMU
Brady Adcock, MHU
Aaron Nelson, L-R

Second Team
Parks Edwards, AU
Carter Benge, MHU
Patrick Helmick, BC
Kiel Bollero, MHU
Binyam Belachew, WU
Ryan Mecca, LMU
Nathan Collier, NEW