ANDERSON, S.C. – The South Atlantic Conference's top cross country runners are set to descend upon Newton, N.C., Saturday at the 25th running of the SAC Cross Country Championships.
Lenoir-Rhyne will serve as the host institution for the meet's 12th overall visit to the Tar Heel State and first since 2014, which was held in Salisbury, N.C., and saw the Wingate women come away victorious.
This year's version will take place at Southside Park in Newton, N.C., which was also home to the 2009 SAC Championships, with the Mars Hill men and Lenoir-Rhyne women taking home the hardware.
The women will begin the day's festivities with a five kilometer (3.11 miles) race starting at 9 a.m., with Queens looking for its second straight conference title after unseating Wingate a year ago, after the Bulldogs had won the three previous conference championships in dominant fashion.
The Royals were the top-ranked team in the Southeast Region in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) DII Regional Rankings, while the Trojans were fourth. Wingate was fifth, with Lenoir-Rhyne rounding out the rankings in 10th place.
The Trojan women's squad has claimed three titles this season, winning the USC Upstate Eye Opener and also finishing first at both the USC Upstate Invitational and the Piedmont College Invitational two weeks ago. Senior Haylee Love captured the top spot at both the Eye Opener and the Piedmont Invitational, while freshman Olivia Evans claimed top honors at the Upstate Invitational.
The Trojans have finished third at the SAC Championships each of the last three years and four of the last five after claiming the title in their first two seasons in the conference (2010 and 2011).
AU trailed Queens and Wingate at the 2016 SAC Championships behind four top-20 finishes. Then-senior Olivia Gardner paced the Trojans and earned Second-Team All-SAC honors with a ninth-place finish, while Love also collected all-conference hardware for the third straight year after crossing the finish line in 13th place. The Lexington, S.C., native went on to became the first Trojan cross country runner to qualify for the national championships since former All-American Whitney Bishoff earned back-to-back appearances in 2008 and 2009 and again during the 2011 campaign.
Abigail Bozarth earned Honorable Mention All-SAC honors a year ago after finishing in 16th place. Teammate Maddie Buddenberg was just behind in 17th place and also garnered Honorable Mention All-SAC accolades. Martha Coleman narrowly missed capturing Honorable Mention All-SAC honors with a 22nd-place finish, while Hannah Sanford finished 25th. Breck Jones finished in 27th place and crossed the line with the sixth-best time among freshmen last season. Morgan Bridges posted a 29th–place finish.
Parking and admission to the SAC Cross Country Championships are free.
