Men's Cross Country Wins Southeast Regional Championship

MONTEVALLO, Ala. - The Mars Hill men's cross country team claimed the 2014 Southeast Regional Championship after placing three runners in the top 15 on Saturday morning. The Lions finished with 76 points, topping second place Mount Olive with 94 points and third place Queens with 120 points.

Mars Hill was led by Alex Griggs in fourth place as he navigated the 10-kilometer course in 32:19.75. Nathan Jones finished in sixth place with a time of 32:38.11. Derek Gibson scored a 15^th place finish in 33:15.32, followed by the freshman duo of Gil Gilreath (33:50.71) and Garrett Farrimond (33:51.07) in 25^th and 26^th. Cesar Reyes finished in 31^st with a time of 34:12.28 with a 37^th place result from Brandon Beard (34:23.58) rounding out the Lion scoring. By comparison, Mount Olive's fifth and sixth place runners finished in 44^th and 45^th place. Griggs, Jones, Gibson, Gilreath and Farrimond earned All-Region honors.

Mars Hill advances to the national meet for the first time since 2010. The NCAA Division II National Championship meet will be held at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park as part of the DII National Championship Fall Festival. The men's race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.