Wingate University Athletics

Wingate University junior Steve Hammond (Warsaw, Ohio) won the individual title at the 2012 Food Lion SAC championship meet Saturday morning. Hammond helped lead the Bulldogs to a second-place finish at the race. Wingate finished five points ahead of third place Lenoir-Rhyne.

Hammond finished with a time of 26:26 in the 8K race, winning by 12 seconds to earn first team All-SAC honors along with the SAC Runner of the Year Award. Hammond is a three-time first team All-SAC performer. He finished seventh in the 2011 meet and sixth in the 2010 event.

“Steve came out with a vengeance to go for the win today after a subpar performance last year,” Wingate head coach Joe Soehnlen says. “He took the lead before the two-mile mark…and never looked back. I’m proud of him for his poise and his ability to tackle such a tough course.”