GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman men’s cross country team is ranked 17th nationally and placed four athletes on the All-Southeast Region team, while the women are rated 34th nationally and were represented by Bethany Graham on the all-region team, as released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings.

The top 25 finishers at Friday’s region meet were honored as all-region selections.  On the men’s side, senior Aaron Wier paced the Paladins with a time of 29:29.9 on the 10K course for eighth place.  Senior Cameron Ponder took ninth place with a time of 29:34.3, while sophomore Dylan Schubert turned in a time of 29:42.5 for 12th place.  Senior Daniel Bernal earned his third-career all-region citation after placing 14th with a time of 29:46.0.

As one of the top two teams at the meet, the Paladin men qualified automatically for the NCAA Championships, which will be held Friday in Tallahassee, Fla.  

Sophomore Bethany Graham qualified automatically for the national championships on the women’s side by virtue of her fifth-place individual finish at Friday’s meet.  She paced Furman with a time of 20:13.5 on the 6K course, notching her first all-region citation.

Both Paladin teams claimed their ninth-straight Southern Conference titles last month.