SPARTANBURG, S.C. ?Southern Conference cross country coaches selected Michael Mentz of Chattanooga as Men’s Runner of the Week for October 3.

Mentz, a senior from Bloemfontein, South Africa,  posted a personal and conference best of 24:40 at the Louisville Classic.  He led the Mocs to a 10^th place finish of 35 teams in the gold division.  Overall, he placed 25^th of 300 runners including runners from Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Wake Forest.

Other Top Performers:

Asmeron Desta, a junior from Appalachian State, led the Mountaineers to a sixth place finish in a field of 41 teams at the 35^th Annual Paul Short Run.  He finished 26^th of 270 runners with a  time of 24:49.  It was a personal best by almost a minute and was 1:10 faster than his previous best time on the same course. 

Eric Lewandowski, a junior from Elon, ran 26:02 at the Paul Short Run.  His time is just shy of the school record.  He lead the Phoenix to a 32^nd place finish of 42 teams which included ranked teams Villanova, Syracuse and Princeton.