BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. - Led by senior Parks Edwards' season-best time, the Anderson men's cross country team placed third at the 2013 Food Lion SAC Cross Country Championships, hosted by Mars Hill University at the Montreat College course in Black Mountain, N.C. Saturday morning.
With temperatures in the upper-20s for the 8K race, Mars Hill continued its dominance of SAC cross country, as the Lions won their conference record 17th-straight conference title. MHU entered the championship ranked No. 5 in the Southeast Region by the USTFCCCA.
Queens' Felix Duchampt claimed the individual title with a time of 25:18.0, which was more than 27 seconds faster than runner-up Alex Griggs of Mars Hill.
After finishing sixth at the championships a year ago, the Trojans moved up three spots, as Edwards' season-best time of 26:44 bested his previous time by more than 15 seconds. The Greenville, S.C., native earned Second-Team All-Conference honors for the second consecutive year with his 12th-place finish.
Freshman Ben Boerma (27:24.3) was seven seconds off his
season-best, and was less than three seconds from earning the fifth
and final spot for all-freshman accolades, as he finished 20th
overall. Another newcomer this season, freshman Thomas Garrigan
earned the 22nd spot with a time of 27:34.3 and freshman Ned
Kennedy crossed the line in 28th in a time of 27:52.8. Redshirt
junior Westley Wilson (27:59.6) captured 31st, with junior Joshua
Visi-Clark finishing 41st in a time of 28:35.9.
A pair of freshman, Jesse Patrick (28:46.1) and Michael Burch
(29:31.1) rounded out the Trojan contingent in 48th and 64th,
respectively. Burch slashed nearly 19 seconds from his
personal-best time of the season.
"We ran an excellent race," said Anderson head coach Randy Greer.
"I am very pleased. It was a really good race for the men."
The NCAA Southeast Regionals will be held in Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday, Nov. 9.
1 Mars Hill
2 Queens
3 Anderson
4 Brevard
5 Lincoln Memorial
6 Wingate
7 Lenoir-Rhyne
8 Tusculum
9 Carson-Newman
10 Newberry
11 Catawba
12 Coker
First Team All-SAC
Felix Duchampt, Queens
Alex Griggs, Mars Hill
Derek Gibson, Mars Hill
Josh Mower, Brevard
Nathan Jones, Mars Hill
Jake Betancourt, Queens
Ryan Mecca, Lincoln Memorial
Second Team All-SAC
David Cooper, Tusculum
Cesar Reyes, Mars Hill
Aaron Nelson, Lenoir-Rhyne
Bradley Maldonado, Lincoln Memorial
Parks Edwards, Anderson
Brady Adcock, Mars Hill
All-Freshman Team
Nathan Jones, Mars Hill
Jake Betancourt, Queens
Alex Craig, Wingate
James Hollingsworth, Queens
Marc Delisle, Brevard
Runner of the Year: Felix Duchampt, Queens
Freshman of the Year: Nathan Jones, Mars Hill
Coach of the Year: Mike Owens, Mars Hill
