Lions Hold at Fifth in Southeast Region

NEW ORLEANS, LA.-- Mars Hill's men's cross country is ranked fifth in the Southeast Region in the latest U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Poll, which was released Tuesday.

This is the second-consecutive week the Lions have been ranked fifth in the Southeast Region. MHU is coming a second-place finish in the Royals Pre-Region Challenge, held this past Friday at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte. Mars Hill has also notched second-place finishes in the Spartanburg Eye Opener and Hyder-McMahill Invitational this season. The Lions have been ranked as high as fourth in the Southeast Region by the USTFCCCA.

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Mars Hill has been led by Alex Griggs in every race this season. The sophomore  has been named SAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week twice. He most recently finished sixth in the Royals Pre-Region Challenge.

Freshman Nathan Jones has finished among the Lions' top five runners in all but one race this season. Jones turned in the second-best time by a Division II freshman at the Royals Pre-Region Challenge.

The Lions have also received top-five finishes from Derek Gibson, Brady Adcock, Cesar Reyes and Kiel Bollero.

Mars Hill enters next Saturday's SAC Championship as the favorite to win their 17th-consecutive conference title. The top four Lion runners have placed better than any runner from another South Atlantic Conference school in all but one event this season.

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.