Beard & Jones Named Academic All-District
Brandon Beard and Nathan Jones have been selected to the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-District™ Men’s Track/Cross Country Teams.
AUSTIN, Texas – Brandon Beard and Nathan Jones have been selected to the 2016-17 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District™ Men's Track/Cross Country Teams.
Beard is a junior from Fairfield, Ohio. In the sport of cross country, Beard was first team All-South Atlantic Conference in 2016, selected to the 2016 All-Southeast Region squad and made the United States Track and Field Cross Country Association (USTFCCA) team. Competing in indoor track and field, Beard set a new MHU record in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:59.80. In outdoor track and field, he set a new MHU record in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:53.80. This time broke the existing school record by over three seconds. His time of 3:57.64 in the 1500-meter run was the second fastest time in school history. For his efforts Beard was selected to the 2017 All-SAC second team in outdoor track and field. Beard is a Business Administration major and carries a 3.79 cumulative grade point average.
Jones is a senior from Lenoir City, Tenn. He was the 2016 SAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year, first team All-SAC, made the 2016 All-Southeast Region Cross Country Team and was also a member of the USTFCCA All-Academic team. Jones ran the fastest 8K time in both MHU and SAC history with a time of 24:07.60. Jones was twice named the SAC Scholar Athlete for Men's Cross Country (2015 & 2016). For his athletic performances, academic success and leadership skills this past season, Jones was named the 2016-17 Mars Hill Athletic Department's Man of the Year. Jones has been a formidable runner for the Lions since his freshman year and culminated his career with the Individual South Atlantic Cross Country Championship this past season. A three-time All-Region selection, Jones is a four-time All-Conference honoree and took home Freshman of the Year honors during his rookie season. In outdoor track and field, Jones was an Honorable Mention All-SAC selection in the 10K run. Jones graduated with a degree in Math earlier this month. He finished his degree with a 3.80 cumulative grade point average.
