Lions Capture 17th-Consecutive SAC Championship

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.-- Paced by five all-conference performances, Mars Hill's men's cross country team captured their 17th-consecutive South Atlantic Conference Championship Saturday morning at Montreat College's Black Mountain Campus.

All five of the Lions' point-earners finished among the top 14 in the race- Alex Griggs, Derek Gibson, Nathan Jones, Cesar Reyes and Brady Adcock. Griggs, Gibson and Jones all earned First-Team All-SAC honors for their performance. Jones was named SAC Freshman of the Year as the top freshman runner in the conference. Reyes and Adcock each earned Second-Team All-SAC honors. Head coach Mike Owens was named Coach of the Year. The Lions' 17-consecutive championships are an unprecedented streak in conference history in any sport.

Griggs once again finished as Mars Hill's top performer, coming in second overall with a time of 25:43. Griggs has finished second in the conference in each of the past two seasons. Gibson came in third overall with a time of 26:06. Gibson has been the Lions' most improved runner over the course of the season, and it showed in his First-Team All-SAC performance.

For the second consecutive season, a Lion earned Freshman of the Year honors as Jones finished fifth overall. Jones finished with a 26:10 time to round out Mars Hill's first-team honorees.

Reyes finished ninth overall with a time of 26:19. He was joined on the second team by Adcock, who placed 14th in his final SAC Championship race.

Further bolstering the Lions' performance were strong runs by Kiel Bollero (16th) and Carter Benge (25th).

Mars Hill will compete in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships, which will be held Nov. 9 at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte. The Lions finished fourth in last year's Regional meet.

Listed below are the complete championship standings, All-SAC Teams and award-winners.

SAC Men's Cross Country Championship Standings
1. Mars Hill- 33
2. Queens- 77
3. Anderson- 113
4. Brevard- 117
5. Lincoln Memorial- 122
6. Wingate- 141
7. Lenoir-Rhyne- 146
8. Tusculum- 242
9. Carson-Newman- 262
10. Newberry- 269
11. Catawba- 270
12. Coker- 297

Men's First Team All-SAC
Felix Duchampt, Queens
Alex Griggs, Mars Hill
Derek Gibson, Mars Hill
Josh Mower, Brevard
Nathan Jones, Mars Hill
Jake Betancourt, Queens
Ryan Mecca, Lincoln Memorial

Men's Second Team All-SAC
David Cooper, Tusculum
Cesar Reyes, Mars Hill
Aaron Nelson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Bradley Maldonado, Lincoln Memorial
Parks Edwards, Anderson
Brandon Ward, Lincoln Memorial
Brady Adcock, Mars Hill

All-Freshman Team
Nathan Jones, Mars Hill
Jake Betancourt, Queens
Alex Craig, Wingate
James Hollingsworth, Queens
Marc Delisle, Brevard

Runner of the Year: Felix Duchampt, Queens
Freshman of the Year: Nathan Jones, Mars Hill
Coach of the Year: Mike Owens, Mars Hill