Men's Cross Country Places Third at A-Sun Championships

Josh Helton

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont men's cross country team placed five runners in the top 23 overall, but it wasn't enough to top USC Upstate and Kennesaw State at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships on Saturday in Nashville.

The Bruins finished third with a total of 84 points, falling to runner-up Kennesaw State by five points, and the league champion Spartans by 15.  Lipscomb and North Florida rounded out the top five, scoring 90 and 94 points, respectively.

As he has done all season long, junior Matt Miller (LaPorte, Ind.) led the Bruins on the course.  He placed fourth overall, recording a time of 25:16.30 on the eight kilometer course.  USC Upstate's Gilbert Kemboi won the individual championship after finishing first in a time of 24:27.01.

Miller earned First Team All-Conference honors for his performance, and sophomore teammate Josh Helton (Franklin, Tenn.) was named to the Second Team All-Atlantic Sun following the meet.  Helton placed 14th overall with a time of 25:51.70.

Belmont's third, fourth and fifth runners finished consecutively, placing 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.  Sophomore Erick Kigen (Eldoret, Kenya) was the first of the three to cross the line, taking 21st in a time of 26:08.59.  Freshman Marcus Bridger-Wilkinson (Newbury, England) came across the line less than four seconds later at 26:11.87.

Bridger-Wilkinson was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team as he was one of the top five freshman performers in the meet.  Sophomore Brandon Mahaney (Lafayette, Tenn.) was the final Bruin scorer to finish, crossing the line before any other team's fifth place runner.  He took 23rd with a time of 26:12.76.

Belmont will next begin to prepare for the NCAA South Regional Championships on November 12 in Alabama.

Highlights