by Kaity Kopeski
Editor-in-chief
The men’s cross country team placed first in the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday, held at Montreat College (Black Mountain, N.C.), scoring 20 points and qualifying for the NAIA National Championships.
The Lions swept second through sixth places led by junior Bryson Harper. Claiming the third through sixth spots were sophomore Jason McLeod, senior Zach Buffington, senior Josh Bradley and sophomore Drew Thompson.
The women placed second in the conference with four runners, juniors Ericka Simpson and Alyssia Lindsay, senior Catherine Anderson and sophomore Liz Olsen, qualifying individually for nationals.
In cross country there are two ways to qualify for nationals, either win the conference as a team, or qualify as an individual. To qualify as an individual, the runner’s team has to place in the top six. The individual runner has to place in the top 15 runners, plus, once the winning team’s runners are eliminated, the runner be one of the top five runners.
Although the men’s team won the AAC championship, only the top seven runners will compete at nationals, according to head coach Rodney Stoker, who, after the conference win, was named AAC Men’s Coach of the Year.
“I felt this was one of the best races all year,” said Lindsay about the weekend meet. Lindsay said all the “small things” like 6:15 a.m. runs and workout sessions, early bed times and eating healthy, “came together,” setting the Lions apart from the other runners.
Now the runners are focused on Nationals, to be held in Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 20.
Last year the men placed 27th at nationals. Stoker said the plan for nationals is “the same as it is with any race—to compete at the highest level possible and let the outcome take care of itself.”