Railsplitters Finish Eighth At South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships
October 24, 2009
Courtesy of the South Atlantic Conference
NEWTON, NC -- The Lincoln Memorial University men's cross country team posted an eighth place finish Saturday morning at the 2009 South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championship at Southside Park in Newton, North Carolina.
LMU posted a team total of 181 and a team time of 2:34:26.99, good enough for eighth place.
Sophmore Derrick Lindsay (Talbott, TN) finished 15th overall (27:50.21) to lead the Railsplitters. Reid Ailey (JEfferson City, TN) came in at 36th with a time of 29:56.04. Andras Pauko (Budapest, Hungary), the lone senior on the team, posted a time of 30:29.13 and finished in 40th place. Shane Curtsinger (Clarksville, OH) ran a 31:14.24 time which placed him 45th. Aaron Morris (Newport, TN) came in 59th with a time of 34:57.37 and John Bolton (LaFollette, TN) finished in 64th place with a 38:07.95 time.
Overall, Mars Hill placed first in the meet, winning their 13th straight league championship.
The Lions had three of the top four runners overall and has now won every conference championship dating back to 1997.
Tusculum College's Simon Holzapfel claimed the individual title after running the 8K course in 25:53.
Joining Holzapfel on the All-South Atlantic Conference First Team were Mars Hill's Kit Powell, Justin Gragg, and Trey McCain, Lenoir-Rhyne University's Tyler Mooney, Catawba College's Christian Crifasi and Mars Hill's Aaron Thomas.
The 2009 All-SAC Second Team consists of Wingate University's Tesfom Mehari, Lenoir-Rhyne's Jakob Maidens, Wingate's Doug Coats, Mars Hill's Eric Blackburn, Wingate's David Sanctis, Lenoir-Rhyne's Ryan Patrick and Brevard College's Matt Crowe.
Crifasi was named the 2009 SAC Men's Cross Country Freshman Runner of the Year after a sixth-place finish. He was joined on the All-Freshman team by Blackburn, Ryan, Crowe and Lenoir-Rhyne's Zack Queen.
Mike Owens of Mars Hill was named the 2009 SAC Men's Cross Country Coach Of The Year. He wins the award for the 14th consecutive year. Holzapfel was selected the South Atlantic Conference Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete Of The Year for 2009.
2009 Food Lion SAC Men's Cross Country Championships
Newton, N.C. - Southside Park
1. Mars Hill 27
2. Lenoir-Rhyne 66
3. Wingate 75
4. Catawba 129
5. Carson-Newman 156
6t. Brevard 165
6t. Newberry 165
8. Lincoln Memorial University 181
9. Tusculum 194
