FINAL RESULTS

Morristown, Tenn.----The Wingate University cross country teams earned bookend third-place finishes in the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference championship meet Saturday at Panther Creek State Park. Wingate sophomore Keeley Wood (Sanford, N.C.) finished third in the women’s 5K race with a time of 19:26.5. Classmate Steve Hammond (Warsaw, Ohio) matched Wood by earning first team All-SAC honors with his seventh-place showing in the men’s 8K race.
           
Hammond and the Wingate men improved their standing from last year’s fourth-place finish. The 2010 SAC Freshman of the Year, Hammond earns All-SAC first team laurels for the second consecutive season. On Saturday, Hammond posted a 27:06.2 8K to lead the Bulldog charge.
 
Wingate sophomore Binyam Ateka Belachew (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) claimed the 13th position on the individual leader board with an 8K time of 27:23.7. Belachew receives All-SAC second team honors for the second time in as many years.
 
Bulldog junior Andrew Smith (Oakboro, N.C.) finished 22nd with an 8K time of 27:48.9. In his first Food Lion SAC championship meet, junior Hillary Maiyo (Eldoret, Kenya) ran a 28:12.9 8K for 27th place. Sophomore Max Courtney (Monroe, N.C.) clocked a 28:14.5 8K to finish in 29th place.
 
The Mars Hill men won their 15th consecutive Food Lion SAC championship meet with 46 points. Lion senior Justin Gragg led the MHC charge with an 8K time of 26:31.2. Gragg finished second to Tusculum legend Simon Hozapfel (’11) in the 2010 SAC race at the Wingate Cross Country facility. Anderson gave Mars Hill everything they could handle, finishing second with 48 points. The Wingate Bulldogs had 98 points to edge Lenoir-Rhyne (101) for third place.
 
“Early in the race, we put ourselves in a position to compete (for the title),” Johnson says. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have it today. This is a tough course…and we have been battling sickness this week. We know all 10 teams were in the same spot today. We will work hard for two weeks…hoping to perform better (at regionals).”
 
“Keeley ran a very smart, intelligent race,” Wingate head coach Dr. Dennis Johnson says. “She put herself in a position to place high (in the individual standings).”
 
Bulldog sophomore Brianna Stevens (Coshocton, Ohio) placed 10th with a time of 20:42.4. She earns All-SAC second team honors. Classmate Taylor Varnadoe (Marietta, Ohio) barely missed an All-SAC placement with her 16th place finish. Varnadoe ran a 21:02.5 5K.
 
Wingate junior Melanie Wollenberg (New Lexington, Ohio) and sophomore Tiana Barnes (Winchester, Calif.) finished 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Wollenberg ran a 21:24.5 5K, while Barnes posted a 21:26.5. Lenoir-Rhyne senior Kate Griewisch earned her second SAC Runner of the Year award in three years with an 18:09.0 5K time. Anderson (S.C.) senior Whitney Bishoff finished second in the battle of All-Americans with a time of 18:34.9.
 
The Anderson Trojans won their second straight SAC women’s cross country title in as many years with 60 points. Anderson matched its 2010 performance with three All-SAC honorees. Trojan women finished second, ninth, 14th, 15th and 20th. Lenoir-Rhyne was second with 63 points, while Wingate ran a strong third with 74 points.
 
“We were a few small happenings from a fantastic day,” Johnson says. “We were close to the championship result we wanted. If we could have had one or two runners finish with Brianna (Stevens)…you never know what might happen.”
 
Both Wingate teams will compete in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Saturday, Nov. 5 at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte. Queens University of Charlotte is the host institution. The Queens Royals are the number one team in the latest USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) Southeast Region top 10 polls. The Wingate men are number seven and the Bulldog women are number nine in same listings.