ANDERSON, S.C. – After claiming third place at the South Atlantic Conference Championships two weeks ago, the Anderson University country teams are set to compete at the 2016 NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championships, Saturday at Montevallo.
The men's 10K race is set to start at 9 a.m. (eastern), while the women's championship is slated for a 10:15 a.m. start.
The top three teams and top five individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the NCAA National Championships in St. Leo, Fla., on Nov. 19.
Montevallo was also the site of the 2014 Regional Championships that saw the AU men claim 16th place, while the women captured sixth out of the 26 teams that competed two years ago.
As a sophomore in 2014, AU's Olivia Gardner captured All-Region honors after finishing 23rd, Bari Robinson finished 52nd and Amber Worthy claimed 59th in 2014. Mia Swiersz finished in the 60th spot. On the men's side, Mason Hazel's 12th-place finish at Montevallo as a freshman in 2014 earned him All-Region accolades, while Michael Burch and Ben Boerma finished 122nd and 130th, respectively.
Last season, the women claimed seventh at the NCAA Southeast Regional, which was hosted by Wingate. The men finished ninth a year ago.
The Trojan women's team was ranked fifth in the region in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region Rankings and saw four runners capture All-SAC honors two weeks ago. Gardner earned all-conference honors for the third consecutive year, while junior Haylee Love also collected all-conference hardware for the third straight year. Abigail Bozarth and Maddie Buddenberg garnered Honorable Mention All-SAC honors.
The Trojan men's squad held the eighth spot in the latest USTFCCCA regional poll and also had four runners bring home all-conference accolades. Hazel captured First-Team All-SAC honors for the second straight year with a runner-up performance. Newcomer Brooks Hovis was named SAC Freshman of the Year and also garnered a spot on the ALL-SAC Second Team, while Boerma earned all-conference accolades for the second consecutive year and freshman Luke Horne collected a spot on the SAC All-Freshman Team.
Saturday will mark the second visit to the course in seven weeks for the Trojans, who competed at the Falcon Classic in mid-September.
Hazel led the Trojan men to a seventh-place finish at Montevallo in September by placing 12th, while Hovis finished 40th, with Boerma crossing the line in 44th place. Horne finished 47th and Burch placed 59th. Fellow senior Jesse Patrick finished 72nd, with sophomore John Drummond garnering 95th.
Gardner paced the Trojan women to a sixth-place finish at the Falcon Classic two months ago, while claiming sixth place individually. Junior Alex Dixon crossed the line in 23rd place, with Love capturing 27th place. Freshman Breck Jones (24:10.09) claimed 41st, while Bozarth crossed the line in 45th.
Sophomore Martha Coleman was 49th and freshman Morgan Bridges claimed 52nd place. Buddenberg finished 59th and senior Grace Gerlock was 61st. Freshman Rebecca Faircloth finished 64th, while senior Mia Swiersz finished 79th.
Click HERE for more information on the 2016 NCAA Southeast Region Cross Country Championships.
