COLUMBIA, S.C. – Paced by junior Mason Hazel's runner-up performance and four additional runners posting All-Conference times, the Anderson men's cross country team finished third at the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Championship, Saturday morning at the Sandhill Research and Education Center.

Mars Hill, which has been dominant in the conference by winning 18 consecutive titles (1997-2014) before being dethroned last year by Queens, returned to the top spot Saturday morning, with the Royals finishing second. The Trojans finished third for the fourth time since joining the SAC in 2010, while capturing second place in 2011. Lincoln Memorial claimed the fourth spot for the second straight year, with Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.

Catawba, Carson-Newman, Brevard, Coker, Tusculum and Newberry rounded out the 12-team standings.

Hazel captured First-Team All-SAC honors for the second straight year with his highest finish at the SAC Championship by crossing the finish line in a time of 26:20.5. Newcomer Brooks Hovis was named SAC Freshman of the Year and also garnered a spot on the ALL-SAC Second Team by finishing 12th in a time of 27:14.6.

Senior Ben Boerma earned all-conference accolades for the second consecutive year with a 13th-place finish in a time of 27:14.8. Freshman Luke Horne collected a spot on the SAC All-Freshman Team by crossing the finish line in 35th place in a time of 28:26.4, while senior Michael Burch was 38th in a time of 28:32.2. Fellow seniors Ned Kennedy (28:40.3) and Jesse Patrick (28:52.1) finished 40th and 45th, respectively, while sophomore John Drummond posted a 54th-place finish in a time of 29:06.01

Next up for the Trojans is the NCAA Southeast Regional, which is slated for Saturday, Nov. 5 in Montevallo, Ala.

SAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year: David Jones (Mars Hill)
SAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year: Mike Owens (Mars Hill)
SAC Men's Cross Country Freshman of the Year: Brooks Hovis (Anderson)

All-SAC First Team
James Gilreath, Mars Hill
Garrett Farrimond, Mars Hill
Brandon Beard, Mars Hill
Elijah Inuwa, Queens
Jacob Black, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mason Hazel, Anderson
David Jones, Mars Hill

All-SAC Second Team
Dalton Cox, Wingate
Ben Boerma, Anderson
Brooks Hovis, Anderson
Noah Allison, Mars Hill
Jimmy Hollingsworth, Queens
Tom Bains, Queens
Jorge Hernandez, Lincoln Memorial

All-SAC Honorable Mention
Anthony Raftis, Queens
Hassan Kiprono, Brevard
Anthony Gaudin, Wingate
Jerry Resor, Mars Hill
Luke Greer, Carson-Newman
Amos Korir, Carson-Newman
Brent Turner, Brevard

All-Freshman Team
Brooks Hovis, Anderson
Anthony Raftis, Queens
Amos Korir, Carson-Newman
Jacob Gatewood, Lincoln Memorial
Luke Horne, Anderson

RESULTS