SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Phil Mitchell, a senior at Appalachian State, has been selected the Southern Conference Men's Runner of the Week for his performance at the Paul Short Run Saturday, the league office announced Wednesday.
The history major from Glastonbury, Conn., finished 14th out of 362 runners at the event hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Mitchell led the Mountaineers to a 13th place finish out of 42 teams.
His time of 23:56 on the 8K course bested the previous school record by 24 seconds. The time is also an improvement on his personal best by 55 seconds and currently leads the Southern Conference.
Next up for Mitchell and Mountaineers is the Blue Ridge Open, which they host on October 16.
Other top performers included:
Davidson's Lance Harden, a senior philosophy major from Apex, N.C. Harden placed 25th out of a field of 334 at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic. His time of 24:44 on the 8K course was a 16 second personal best and beat the previous school record by 13 seconds. The Wildcats finished 6th out of 38 teams, their best finish in a major invitational.
UNC Greensboro's Joey Thompson, a sophomore pre-business major from Columbia, Md. Thompson posted a time of 24:56 on the 8K course at the Charlotte Invitational to finish as the third collegian and fourth overall. He helped the Spartans to a third place team finish. His time set a new school record in the 8K. Thompson is also the first runner in UNCG history to break the 25:00 mark.
College of Charleston's Trevor Sprague, a pre-med major from Dunwoody, Ga. Sprague set a new school record with his time of 25:42 at the Charlotte Invitational.
Southern Conference Men's Runner of the Week
Week 1: Lance Harden, Davidson
Week 2: Charles McGoogan, Furman
Week 3: Joey Thompson, UNC Greensboro
Week 4: Charles McGoogan, Furman
Week 5: Phil Mitchell, Appalachian State