NEWTON, N.C. – With four runners posting career-best times and paced by senior Mason Hazel's personal record, the Anderson men's cross country team finished third at the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Championships, Saturday morning at Southside Park.
Queens, which was ranked second in the Southeast Region in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Poll, also claimed the title in 2015. Wingate, which was bidding for its first conference championship, finished second. The Trojans, who are ranked fifth in the region, finished third for the third consecutive year and fifth time since joining the SAC in 2010.
Lincoln Memorial finished fourth, with host Lenoir-Rhyne taking home fifth place. Mars Hill, the defending champion and 19-time title holder, finished sixth. Carson-Newman, Catawba, Tusculum, Coker and Newberry rounded out the 11-team field.
With less than a second marking the difference between first place and eighth place, Hazel (24:44.60) notched the fifth spot by trimming nearly three seconds off his previous career-best time over the 8K course and capturing First-Team All-SAC honors for the third straight season. Freshman Ben Clark (25:39.26) was just three seconds off his personal-best time and finished 11th, while earning Second-Team All-SAC and All-Freshman Team accolades. Freshman Weston Hutto bettered his personal record by 15 seconds en route to claiming 20th place and earned Honorable Mention All-SAC honors in a time of 26:12.85.
Freshman Cameron Owens-Hunter narrowly missed earning honorable mention accolades after finishing 22nd and posting a personal best time of 26:25.91. Sophomore Luke Horne (27:06.39) slashed nearly 15 seconds off his career-best time and claimed 38th place, with freshman Joey Teachout finishing 43rd in a time of 27:19.11. Classmate Phillip Quillen was 53rd in a time of 27:37.23, with senior John Drummond taking home 63rd place in a time of 28:23.31.
The freshmen duo of Ian Yates (28:47.83) and David Rolon (29:16.31) rounded out the Trojan contingent in 72nd and 78th place, respectively.
The Southeast Region Championships will be hosted by Wingate on Saturday, Nov. 4.
SAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year: Tom Bains (Queens)
SAC Men's Cross Country Freshman of the Year: Nick Kipkemi (Queens)
SAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year: Kevin Licht (Queens)
All-SAC First Team
Tom Bains, (Queens)
Luke Greer, (Carson-Newman)
Daniel Wallis, (Queens)
Nick Kipkemi, (Queens)
Mason Hazel, (Anderson)
Felix Wammetsberger, (Queens)
Micah Kipchumba, (Wingate)
All-SAC Second Team
Nepolian Patel, (Wingate)
Conal McCambridge, (Queens)
Jose Rosas, (Queens)
Ben Clark, (Anderson)
Anthony Raftis, (Queens)
Dalton Cox, (Wingate)
Jorge Hernandez, (Lincoln Memorial)
All-SAC Honorable Mention
Kelvin Ronah, (Carson-Newman)
Corbin Boyles, (Lenoir-Rhyne)
Garrett Farrimond, (Mars Hill)
Jacob Black, (Lenoir-Rhyne)
Amos Korir, (Carson-Newman)
Weston Hutto, (Anderson)
Jacob Gatewood, (Lincoln Memorial)
All-Freshman Team
Nick Kipkemi, (Queens)
Felix Wammetsberger, (Queens)
Micah Kipchumba, (Wingate)
Ben Clark, (Anderson)
Kelvin Ronah, (Carson-Newman)
