WINGATE, N.C. – Paced by senior Ty Gleason's 12th-place showing and with three additional Trojans claiming spots in the top-25, the Anderson University men's cross country team claimed second place at the South Atlantic Conference Championships, Saturday morning.
The 27th running of the championships were hosted by Wingate University on the Bulldogs' campus for the first time since 2010 and the fifth time since 1993.
"The men fought hard and competed the best they have all year," said Anderson head coach Kevin Eagle. "The guys knew who they needed to run down and they did a tremendous job with putting themselves out there to run fast. I am very pleased with how they each attacked the race and performed. Our entire pack went out there and ran for each other, and it showed in the results!"
With four runners finishing in the top-five spots, nationally 18th-ranked Queens won its third straight conference title and fourth championship in five years, while the Trojans, who were tabbed eighth regionally in the latest USTFCCCA Southeast Region Poll, finished as runners-up for the second straight year. The second-place showing equaled AU's top finish in the conference championships from both 2011 and 2018.
The host Bulldogs, who were ranked sixth regionally, finished third, with Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba claiming fourth and fifth, respectively. Tusculum, Lincoln Memorial, Carson-Newman, Mars Hill, Newberry, UVa-Wise and Coker finished out the 12-team field.
Gleason covered the 8K distance in a time of 26:39.3, while earning Second-Team All-SAC honors in the process. Junior Ben Clark earned all-conference accolades for the third straight year – Honorable Mention this year - by finishing 17th in a time of 26:50.2, with freshman Daniel Similton (26:51.0) claiming 18th place and garnering a spot on both the SAC Honorable Mention squad and the All-Freshman Team.
Sophomore Thomas Sutcliffe finished in the 23rd spot after crossing the finish line in a time of 27:03.6, with juniors Matthew Burgess (27:23.5) and Philip Quillen (27:29.4) finishing 30th and 34th, respectively. Sophomore Noah McLain was just behind in 35th place in a time of 27:32.2, while the freshman duo of Noah Brock (28:05.5) and Nicolas Danielski (28:07.3) were 41st and 42nd, respectively. Junior Hayden Tuten crossed the finish line in 63rd place in a time of 29:29.9.
The Trojans will get back in action on Nov. 9 at the 2019 NCAA Southeast Region Championships, which will also be hosted by the Bulldogs on the same course.