Mars Hill Cross Country teams conclude seasons at NCAA DII Southeast Regional Championships

OAKWOOD, Ga. - The Mars Hill men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up their 2023 seasons at the NCAA DII Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships Saturday morning.

Men's 10k Race

The Mars Hill men's cross country team concluded their 2023 campaign at the NCAA DII Southeast Regional Championship at the University of North Georgia's cross country course in Oakwood, Georgia with a 10k race. The Mars Hill men's team moved up steadily throughout the race and finished 24th place as a team out of 35 teams in the southeast region. 

With a breakout race in his first 10k, freshman Gabriel Hunt led the charge for the Lions today with a time of 33:29.1. Fellow freshman, Kelvin Kiprop, followed close behind with a 33:41.9. Following the trend, freshman Brandon Wright finished as the third Lion with a time of 34:48.9. Rounding out scoring for the Lions was senior Maliki Pope with a time of 34:51.6, and Braxton Cummings in a time of 35:34.9. 

Thoughts from Coach Benge:

The men's team worked very well together throughout the race and moved up positions throughout each lap of the course. The most exciting thing about the results from today is that the top three Mars Hill men (and four of the top five) are freshmen - and all four were running the first 10k of their career. This is incredibly exciting as we look forward to the future of the Mars Hill cross country program! Special shoutout to graduate student Maliki Pope who ran the last collegiate cross country race of his career - his wisdom and small strides will be missed next year!  

Women's 6k Race

The Mars Hill women's cross country team concluded their 2023 campaign at the NCAA DII Southeast Regional Championship at the University of North Georgia's cross country course in Oakwood, Georgia with a 6k race. The Mars Hill women's team battled to a 20th place team finish out of 36 teams in the southeast region - their best and highest finish in the past four years.

The Mars Hill women were led by sophomore Lindsey Jenkins in 66th place with a time of 24:07.9 for the 6k distance. With this finish, Lindsey becomes eligible to claim the honor of individual Academic All-American for the first time in her career. To complete her first cross country season, Hannah Frazer was next across the line in her second 6k race with a time of 25:21.8. Emma Bridges was the third Lady Lion to cross the line in a time of 27:14.7. Completing her collegiate cross country career, senior Megan Van Etten finished in a time of 27:43.6. Rounding out team scoring was freshman Brenna Hicks in a time of 29:34.3.  

Thoughts from Coach Benge:

The ladies wrapped up the season well today - again without a key scoring team member. But just as at the conference championship, each of the ladies stepped up and competed with intense passion and focus over the 6k distance. The most impressive race today came from sophomore Lindsey Jenkins, who seemed to have unbreakable focus and determination over the entire race. This led to a huge breakthrough performance and a finish over 20 spots ahead of her pre-race ranking to complete the athletic requirements for nomination as an Academic All-American for the first time! Huge congratulations! Also, with four of the top five ladies returning next season, we are very excited to see this momentum continue into next year. Special shoutout to senior Megan Van Etten who ran the last collegiate cross country race of her career - her kind heart, loud voice, and elementary-school teacher phrases will be missed next year!  

To view the full list of results, please click here.

The Mars Hill cross country teams have concluded their 2023 fall season and will look forward to the upcoming Indoor Track & Field season with competition beginning in December.