Lions Seek 19th Consecutive SAC Title on Saturday

MARS HILL, N.C.- The Mars Hill men's cross country team will look to claim their 19^th consecutive South Atlantic Conference title on Saturday at the SAC Championship in Pineville, Ky. The meet will be held at Wasioto Winds Golf Course.

In 2014, the Lions won the title by placing three runners in the top five and five runners in the top 10 for a team score of 27, outpacing Queens who finished with 41 points.

"The men are a very experienced and mature team with seven seniors," head coach Mike Owens said. "That maturity has been severely tested this year as two of last year's top returning freshmen missed time and are just now rounding back into the shape they need to be in at this point in the season."

Alex Griggs scored a runner-up finish a year ago and has had an outstanding 2015 season. Griggs won the Bulldog Stampede on September 26 and set a new Mars Hill school record at the Royals XC Challenge on October 9. He has been the top finishing MHU runner in every meet this season and has been named the AstroTurf SAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week three times in 2015.

Nathan Jones has finished as the number two runner for MHU in every event this season. Cesar Reyes has been in the Lions' top five all season, with freshman Nick Resor finishing in the MHU top five during the last two meets. Fellow freshman Noah Allison has also been among the top runners for the Lions in his initial collegiate campaign. "Nathan has had an outstanding, consistent year and the contributions of the two freshmen have helped carry the load while we waited for our other runners to return."

Griggs, Jones and Reyes were first team All-SAC performers in 2014, with Gil Gilreath and Brandon Beard claiming a spot on the All-SAC second team.

The men's race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.