ANDERSON, S.C. – The South Atlantic Conference's top cross country runners are set to descend upon Wingate, N.C., Saturday for the 27th running of the SAC Women's Cross Country Championships.
Wingate University is serving as the host institution for the meet's second visit to the Tar Heel State in three years and its 14th overall. The 2017 SAC Championships were hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne in Newton, N.C., with the Trojans hosting last year's championships at the Milliken Research Center in Spartanburg, S.C.
This year's version will take place on Wingate's campus, site of four previous SAC Championships - most recently in 2010 – when the Anderson women's team brought home the title. The Bulldogs also hosted the 1997, 1998 and 2003 championships.
Wingate is also slated to host the 2019 NCAA Southeast Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9.
The women will begin the day's festivities with a six kilometer race starting at 9 a.m., with the men's race tentatively set for a 10:30 a.m. start and covering an eight kilometer distance. Queens will be seeking its fourth consecutive conference title after snapping Wingate's three-year reign in 2016.
Mars Hill owns eight SAC Championships, with its most recent title coming in 2006, while Carson-Newman has claimed five championships, including the 2005 crown. The Trojans have finished as runners-up to Queens the last two years, including 2017, which snapped a three-year streak of third-place finishes (2014-16). The Black and Gold has finished third at the SAC Championships in four of their last seven appearances after claiming the title in their first two seasons in the conference (2010 and 2011).
The Royals, who received votes in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Poll, were the top-ranked team in the Southeast Region, while Wingate held the second spot – just ahead of the Trojans in third place - with Lenoir-Rhyne in sixth.
The Trojans have posted three top-10 finishes this season, including a win at the season-opening Converse Kickoff Classic in early September, and most recently claimed 11th place at the Royals Challenge in Charlotte, N.C.
Sophomore standout Melea Sangl won the Converse Kickoff Classic and also paced the Trojans a week later at the University of Florida's Mountain Dew Invitational, while freshman Rebecca Ward led AU at the Queen City Invitational. Junior Olivia Rish paced the Trojans two weeks ago at the Royals Challenge.
Led by then-senior Abigail Bozarth's eighth-place finish and with five other Trojans posting career-best times, the Trojans finished second for the second straight year at last season's South Atlantic Conference Championships, which were hosted by the Trojans on the Milliken Research Center course.
Olivia Evans captured Second-Team All-SAC honors by crossing the finish line in ninth-place a year ago, while Olivia Rish earned Honorable Mention All-Conference accolades after finishing 15th. Lydia Gambrell took home 33rd place and Kamryn Osterbind claimed 35th place. Hannah Beach finished 55th and Emily Olson finished 59th.
Parking and admission to the SAC Cross Country Championships are free
