GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Senior Emily Eckroth led the Anderson women's cross country team, as the Trojans finished third at the 2012 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships, hosted by Tusculum Saturday morning on the school's campus.
Anderson, the two-time defending champion, came up just shy in its bid to become the first team to claim a third consecutive league title since Mars Hill won five straight SAC crowns in the late nineties. The Trojans snapped Lenoir-Rhyne's two-year win streak with the Trojans' first league title in 2010.
No South Atlantic Conference team has claimed three straight championships since Mars Hill claimed the five consecutive SAC crowns, while Carson-Newman notched three championships earlier in that decade. In its debut in the SAC, Anderson snapped Lenoir-Rhyne's two-year win streak with the Trojans' first league title in 2010.
Eckroth (20:29.7), who paced the Trojans in four of their five regular-season outings, crossed the 5K line in eighth, while sophomore Sydney Hazel (20:34.0) finished 10th. Senior Amanda Mahaffey (20:48.6) earned 14th, with all three runners garnering Second-Team All-SAC accolades.
Sophomore Madison Guest earned 23rd with her time of 20:00.51, with junior Hannah Robles claiming 25th in a time of 21:31.7. Freshman Devan Fisher (22:45.2) crossed the line in 48th, while junior Rachel Westberry (23:09.5) took 53rd.
2012 SAC Women's Cross Country Championship Results
1. Lenoir-Rhyne
2. Wingate
3. Anderson
4. Mars Hill
5. Lincoln Memorial
6. Brevard
7. Carson-Newman
8. Catawba
9. Tusculum
10. Newberry
South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Awards
All-SAC First Team
Keeley Wood, Wingate
Kristen Trammel, Mars Hill
Marie Mauhar, Lenoir-Rhyne
Liz Chaffee, Lenoir-Rhyne
Angela Canale, Brevard
Jessie Baldwin, Newberry
All-SAC Second Team
Emily Eckroth, Anderson
Amber Stoerp, Lincoln Memorial
Sydney Hazel, Anderson
Laura Rhyne, Lenoir-Rhyne
Sam Haering, Wingate
Melanie Wollenberg, Wingate
Amanda Mahaffey, Anderson
SAC All-Freshman Team
Hannah Cook, Brevard
Sam Haering, Wingate
Tia Belter, Lincoln Memorial
Savannah Hulbert, Mars Hill
Maggie Bernabei, Tusculum
SAC Runner of the Year: Keeley Wood, Wingate
SAC Freshman of the Year: Hannah Cook, Brevard
SAC Scholar Athlete for Women's Cross Country:
Jenny Grant, Tusculum
SAC Coach of the Year: Jason Stewart,
Lenoir-Rhyne
