ROCK HILL, S.C. – As the fall seasons wrap up with the NCAA Division II National Championships Festival in Pittsburgh, Pa., Anderson is in third place in the chase for the 2018-19 South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award.
Lenoir-Rhyne took home the SAC title in football and shared the men's soccer title and leads the standings for the award, as the Bears have garnered 487.5 points. L-R also tied for second in women's soccer and took home third place in women's cross country. In second place in the standings was Wingate with 429.5 points. The Bulldogs claimed the conference crown in volleyball, finished second in football and were third in men's cross country.
Fueled by a trio of second-place finishes in men's and women's cross country and volleyball and a pair of fourth-place finishes by the soccer teams, are the Trojans with 410 points.
Carson-Newman took home the SAC women's soccer championship to place at No. 4 in the standings with 391.5 points, while Queens rounded out the top five with 386 points thanks in part to a pair of SAC cross country championships.
Lincoln Memorial landed at No. 6 in the standings with 341.5 points and Tusculum came in at No. 7 with 314 points. LMU also tied for second in women's soccer, while placing third in volleyball. Catawba posted a No. 8 finish in the fall standings with 263 points to finish ahead of Mars Hill, who posted 184 points.
Newberry finished the fall season at No. 10 with 144 points and Coker rounded out the list with 93 points.
The Echols Athletic Excellence Award is presented annually to the member athletic department that earns the highest point total based on cumulative final standings in each of the Conference's 20 sports. Regular season finish is used in the sports of men's and women's soccer, volleyball, football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's lacrosse, baseball and softball, while SAC Championship results are used for men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf and men's and women's indoor and outdoor track.
In the Echols Athletic Excellence Award formula, the champion will always receive 100 points and last place will receive 10 points regardless of the number of schools that sponsor that championship sport. The points earned for all other place finishes will vary based on the number of schools that sponsor that particular sport.
2018-19 SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award Standings – Fall 2018
Rank School Points
1. Lenoir-Rhyne 487.5
2. Wingate 429.5
3. Anderson 410
4. Carson-Newman 391.5
5. Queens 386
6. Lincoln Memorial341.5
7. Tusculum 314
8. Catawba 263
9. Mars Hill 184
10. Newberry 144
11. Coker 93