2009 Food Lion SAC Cross Country Championships To Be Decided Saturday
The 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference men's and women's cross country championship takes place Saturday at Southside Park in Newton, N.C.
The women's championship race will start at 9 a.m. with the men's championship race starting at 10 a.m. Lenoir-Rhyne University is hosting this year's event.
The Mars Hill College men are the defending champions and are the top-ranked team in the Southeast Region by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Lions, who are ranked third in the Southeast Region, have won the conference championship for 12 consecutive years.
Kit Powell has been the top runner this season for the Lions. Powell was the 2007 SAC Freshman of the year, but missed last season with an injury. He has returned to top form this season. He was the college division overall winner at the Asics Winthrop Invitational and was twice named Runner of the Week. The Lions also return All-Conference runners Trey McCain, Aaron Thomas and Josh Corbin.
Lenoir-Rhyne University is ranked fifth in the region poll and the Bears are running on their home course. Sophomore Jakob Maidens, the 2008 SAC Freshman of the Year, and freshman Patrick Ryan have been the top runners for the Bears this season.
Other top men's runners include Tusculum's Simon Holzapfel, who has won four individual titles this season; Carson-Newman's Jonathan Madden; Catawba freshman Christian Crifasi, who won the Belmont Abbey Invitational and twice was named Runner of the Week; and Wingate sophomore Tesfom Mehari and senior David Sanctis, who were both named to the All-Conference second team last year.
The Lenoir-Rhyne University women are the defending champions and are led by sophomore sensation Kate Griewisch, who finished second the conference race in 2008 and was the Freshman of the Year. This season, she was the top Division II runner at the Charlotte Invitational and was the overall winner at the Winthrop Fall Classic, beating a field of mostly Division One competition. Griewish has been the SAC Runner of the week each of the five weeks she has run Lenoir-Rhyne is ranked third in the Southeast Region in the latest USTFCCA poll.
The Carson-Newman women are ranked seventh in the region poll. Freshman Brooke Earhart has been the top runner for the Lady Eagles this season. She had a fourth-place finish in her collegiate debut at the Eye Opener Meet.
Other top women's runners include Catawba senior Maleah Cole, who is coming off a win at the Wingate Pre-Conference Invitational; Wingate University senior Brittany Vish, who was SAC Runner of the Week following a second-place performance Guilford College Cross Country Carnival; Tusculum's Robin Smith, who was SAC Runner of the Week after finishing second at the Camp Bethel Open; and Lincoln Memorial University's Sofia Lopez-Mimendi, who is coming off a win at the Trailblazer Invitational.
The 2009 Food Lion SAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will determine the 2009 All-Conference and All-Freshman Teams.
There is no admission charge for the Food SAC Cross Country Championship.
Directions to the Southside Park are available here