November 8, 2014

Cross Country Claims 18th Consecutive SAC Championship

The Mars Hill men’s cross country team continued their reign in the South Atlantic Conference as they won their 18th consecutive conference championship.

SALISBURY, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's cross country team continued their reign in the South Atlantic Conference as they won their 18^th consecutive South Atlantic Conference Championship Saturday morning at Salisbury Community Park.

Mars Hill finished with 27 points, with Queens University finishing in second place with 41 points. Wingate University rounded out the podium with a third place finish and 136 points.

Alex Griggs led the Lions with a second place finish, completing the 8-kilometer run in 25:57.74. It is the third consecutive season the junior has finished as the runner-up in the conference championship meet. Nathan Jones followed Griggs in third place, finishing in 26:03.96. Derek Gibson earned a fifth place finish with a time of 26:22.17. Cesar Reyes followed in seventh as he finished in 26:45.61. Gil Gilreath gave Mars Hill five runners in the top 10 with a 27:05.09 run to finish in 10^th.

Brandon Beard earned a 13^th place finish, crossing the line in 27:12.76. Garrett Farrimond completed the Lions' scoring positions with a 16^th place effort as he finished in 27:16.49. Other Mars Hill finishers include Chase Shermer (28:10.78), Daniel Lerner (28:46.99) and Lee Johnson (29:14.62).

Griggs, Jones, Gibson and Reyes earned First Team All-SAC honors, with Gilreath and Beard receiving Second Team accolades. Farrimond claimed Honorable Mention laurels. Gilreath also claimed a spot on the All-Freshman team.

Mars Hill will compete in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional meet on Saturday, November 22 in Montevallo, Ala.

2014 Runner of the Year (Men)

Felix Duchampt, Queens

2014 Freshman of the Year (Men)

Adrien Barral, Queens

2014 All-Conference Team (Men)

First Team

Felix Duchampt, Queens

Alex Griggs, Mars Hill

David Jones, Mars Hill

Jimmy Hollingsworth, Queens

Derek Gibson, Mars Hill