Lions Hold at Fourth in Region

NEW ORLEANS, LA.-- Mars Hill's men's cross country team is ranked fourth in the Southeast Region for the second consecutive week in the latest U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Poll, released Tuesday.

Mars Hill is coming off a third-place finish among Division II teams in the Winthrop Invitational. The Lions have notched second-place finishes in both the Spartanburg Eye Opener and Hyder-McMahill Invitational. Mars Hill's top four runners have placed higher than any runner from another South Atlantic Conference school in every event. MHU was also ranked fourth in last week's USTFCCCA Poll.

Alex Griggs has led the team with a pair of second-place finishes that earned him back-to-back SAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week honors. He placed eighth among Division-II runners at Saturday's Winthrop Invitational.

Derek Gibson and Cesar Reyes have added a pair of top 10 finishes for Mars Hill. Brady Adcock, Kiel Bollero and Nathan Jones have also placed among the Lions' top five runners this season.

Mars Hill is once again the top-ranked SAC school in the poll. Queens (6th) is the only other ranked school from the conference.

Click Here for USTFCCCA Regional Rankings

USTFCCCA rankings are determined subjectively by a single-member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning team strength with current-season results in determining predicted finish in the NCAA Regional Championships.

The top three teams in the Southeast Regional Championship receive automatic-qualifying bids to the NCAA Championships. This year's Championship race will be held in Spokane, Wash.

Mars Hill will compete in the Louisville Classic Saturday, Oct. 5.