October 22, 2011

Eagles finish 9th at SAC Championships

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman College men finished ninth at the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships held Saturday morning. On the men’s side, the top finisher was junior Angel Soriano (Weatherford, Texas) who took the 37th spot with a time of 28:47.3.

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman College men finished ninth at the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships held Saturday morning.

On the men's side, the top finisher was junior Angel Soriano (Weatherford, Texas) who took the 37^th spot with a time of 28:47.3.

For the Eagles, freshman Luke Hall (Seymour, Tenn.) was 50^th (29:58.0), freshman Matt Mifflin (Crossville, Tenn.) was 58^th (30:30.4), sophomore Stephen Patton (Ooltewah, Tenn.) was 63^rd (31:05.1), sophomore Joey Nelson (Ringgold, Ga.) was 67^th (31:59.3) and freshman Mark Edwards (Greeneville, Tenn.) was 69^th (32:00.0).

The C-N Cross Country teams will next compete in the NCAA Southeast Region Championships in Charlotte, N.C. on Nov. 5.

For an unprecedented 15^th-consecutive season, Mars Hill has captured the Food Lion SAC Men's Cross Country Championship. The Lions won the 2011 title behind three top-10 individual performances, edging runner-up Anderson by just two points.

Mars Hill was led by individual champion and SAC Runner of the Year Justin Gragg, whose time of 26:31.2 was more than 10 seconds faster than Catawba's Christian Crifasi, who finished second.

MHC also got a first-team All-Conference performance from junior Eric Blackburn, the No. 5 individual finisher on Saturday.

Anderson's second-place team finish was speared by sophomore Parks Edwards, who turned in the race's fourth-best individual time. AU was followed in the team standings by Wingate, led by Steve Hammond's first-team All-Conference time of 27:06.2.

Lenoir-Rhyne placed fourth as a team behind Mike York, whose No. 3 individual finish earned him Freshman of the Year honors. York was the only freshman to finish among the Championship's top 15 individual times.

Brevard was fifth in the team results, followed by Lincoln Memorial, Newberry and Catawba.

Carson-Newman at No. 9 and Tusculum at No. 10 rounded out the team standings.

Completing the SAC All-Conference first team – which recognizes the Championships' top-seven individual runners – was LMU's Derrick Lindsay, who placed sixth.

Saturday's awards ceremony also included the presentation of the 2011 SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, which went to Mars Hill's Gragg.

The Lions took home SAC Coach of the Year hardware as well, as head coach Mike Owens was recognized following his team's conference title.

2011 Food Lion SAC Championship Team Results

1. Mars Hill

2. Anderson

3. Wingate

4. Lenoir-Rhyne

5. Brevard

6. Lincoln Memorial

7. Newberry

8. Catawba

9. Carson-Newman