11 SoCon Athletes Honored for Top-25 Finishes at Regional Meets

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The 25th-ranked Furman women's cross country team placed a record five runners on the All-Southeast Region team, while the 14th-ranked Paladin men were represented by seniors Dylan Schubert and Carson Williams, as released today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The top 25 finishers at Friday's region meet in Spartanburg, S.C., were honored as all-region selections.  

The Furman women finished second at Friday's region championship, beating out tenth-ranked Virginia to claim one of the region's two automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.  The Paladins placed five women in the top 25, including junior Kaylie Armitage, who finished 13th and paced the Paladins with a time of 20:08.8 on the 6K course.  

Senior Abigail Robertson earned her second-consecutive all-region honor after finishing 15th with a time of 20:17.2, while sophomore Carly Wilkes and junior Sierra Bower finished back to back in 16th and 17th place, respectively to claim spots on the all-region time.  Wilkes posted a time of 20:17.4, and Bower recorded a PR of 20:17.6.  Sophomore Jenna Mulhern completed the Furman scorers in 21st place with a personal-best time of 20:20.4 to round out the Furman selections.

The Paladin women had four all-region selections in both 2017 and 2019.  

On the men's side, Schubert won the men's individual title at Friday's championship.  He posted a personal-best time of 28:51.2 to win the 10K race, setting a new course record and becoming the first individual region champion in the history of the Furman cross country program.  Schubert, who was competing in just his third regional as regional meets were not contested in 2020, collected his third-consecutive all-region citation.  

Williams, who earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, finished 13th after recording a personal-best time of 29:27.6 on the 10K course.  

Both Paladin teams claimed their 11th-straight Southern Conference titles last month. 

The Paladin women, plus Schubert and Williams, will compete at the NCAA Championships Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.  The women's 6K will begin at 10:20 a.m., with the men's 10K to follow at 11:10 a.m.


Bowers qualifies for NCAA Cross Country Championship

Johnson CIty, Tenn. – Jason Bowers is heading to the NCAA Championship! 
 
Bowers continued adding to his banner cross country season as he finished fifth at the NCAA South Regional on Friday at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla. Bowers finished the 10K course with a time of 28:51.3. 
 
Bowers is the first Buccaneer men's runner to qualify for a NCAA Championship since Ben Varghese accomplished the feat in 2019. 
 
On Friday, Bowers started off in 12th at the 1000m checkpoint at 2:53.7, while he moved into fifth at the 4000m mark (11:49.3). After dropping to seventh at the 6100m mark, Bowers jumped back into fifth with nearly 3000m left in the race and stayed in that position until the finish. 

The Bucs were also led by Evan Guzman who finished 25th with a time of 29:41.4. Guzman set a new PR on a 10K course on Friday. 
 
Bowers will run in the NCAA Championship, which will be held next Saturday, Nov. 18 at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va. The 10K race is set to run at 11:10 a.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.  
 
For more information on Buccaneer men's cross country, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's cross country tab.


Cross Country Caps Off Record Season at NCAA South Regional

Macon, Ga. - The Mercer cross country teams competed at the NCAA DI South Region Championships on Friday at Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla. The women's team finished 21st, led by Kamila Soja who crossed in 19th place on the way to earning NCAA All-Region honors.

Kamila Soja continued her trend of overtaking every top spot in the Mercer cross country record books. Her 19th place finish (19:08.7) is the highest of any individual runner for Mercer and makes her the first runner in Mercer history to earn NCAA All-Region honors.

"Kamila has had a very impressive season of consistent improvement," said head coach Josh Hayman. "Earning an All-Region spot in one of the toughest regions in the country is a testament to her hard work and sacrifice she has made this year."


Lesley Boyd Earns All-Region Honors

Chattanooga, Tenn. - Chattanooga's Lesley Boyd earned all-region honors Friday morning at the NCAA South Region Championships hosted by the University of Florida at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. The women finished 16^th and the men came on late to finish 17^th.
 
The women's 6-kilometer race got off to an early start at 8:30 a.m. All seven women posted personal best times in the event led by Boyd. She ran with the lead pack at the start of the race and steadily climbed throughout, moving up 11 spots to her final 22^nd place finish. She ran a personal best time of 19:13.4 beating out her previous best time by more than two-and-a-half minutes.