Mars Hill Wins 17th-Consecutive SAC Men's Cross Country Championship

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. – The Mars Hill men's cross country program continued its reign over the SAC Saturday, winning the 2013 Food Lion SAC Cross Country Championship and extending its streak of consecutive conference titles to 17-straight.

Mars Hill has won every SAC Men's Cross Country Championship since 1996, and has never finished lower than fifth at the event.

The Lions were led on Saturday by sophomore Alex Griggs, who finished as the individual runner-up at the conference championship for the second-straight season. Griggs was joined on the All-Conference First Team by Derek Gibson, who finished third, and David Jones, who placed fifth.

Jones' time of 26:10.8 was also the best of any first-year runner, earning him SAC Freshman of the Year accolades.

Competing in its first SAC Championship, Queens finished second in the team standings. The Royals were led by individual champion Felix Duchampt, who crossed the finish line in a time of 25:18 – nearly 27 seconds faster than Griggs. Queen's Jake Betancourt joined Duchampt on the All-SAC First Team after posting the sixth-best individual time.

Anderson came in third at the championship, followed by Brevard at No. 4 and Lincoln Memorial at No. 5. Brevard's Josh Mower and LMU's Ryan Mecca both earned All-SAC First Team accolades after finishing fourth and seventh, respectively, as individuals.

Wingate came in sixth in the team standings, Lenoir-Rhyne placed seventh and Tusculum finished eighth. Rounding out the results were Carson-Newman at No. 9, Newberry at No. 10, Catawba at No. 11 and Coker at No. 12.

After guiding his team to another SAC Championship, Mars Hill's Mike Owens was voted as the SAC Coach of the Year. Owens has won the award season year during MHU's 17-year run.

2013 Food Lion SAC Men's Cross Country Championship – Team Standings

Team (Points)

1. Mars Hill (33)

2. Queens (77)

3. Anderson (113)

4. Brevard (117)

5. Lincoln Memorial (122)

6. Wingate (141)

7. Lenoir-Rhyne (146)

8. Tusculum (242)

9. Carson-Newman (263)

10. Newberry (269)

11. Catawba (270)

12. Coker (297)

All-SAC First Team

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

All-SAC Second Team

David Cooper, Tusculum

Cesar Reyes, Mars Hill

Aaron Nelson, Lenoir-Rhyne

Bradley Maldonado, Lincoln Memorial

Parks Edwards, Anderson

Brandon Ward, Lincoln Memorial

Brady Adcock, Mars Hill

All-SAC Honorable Mention

Alex Craig, Wingate

Kiel Bollero, Mars Hill

James Lawson, Wingate

James Hollingsworth, Queens

Marc Delisle, Brevard

Ben Boerma, Anderson

Jordan Tager, Brevard

SAC All-Freshman Team

Nathan Jones, Mars Hill

Jake Betancourt, Queens

Alex Craig, Wingate

James Hollingsworth, Queens

Marc Delisle, Brevard

SAC Runner of the Year: Felix Duchampt, Queens

SAC Freshman of the Year: Nathan Jones, Mars Hill

SAC Coach of the Year: Mike Owens, Mars Hill