MEN'S RESULTS

WOMEN'S RESULTS

Knoxville, TN - The men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville, TN to compete in the 2015 Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday. On a slick and muddy course in rainy conditions, both teams stepped up to the challenge and came through with strong results.

In the men's race, a young Cavaliers squad stepped up to the challenge of tough competition and a challenging race course to put five runners in the top-25 finishers en route to a third-place team finish. Daniel Lancaster (SO/Wilmington, NC) finished 10th overall in a time of 26:41 to earn AAC All-Conference honors. Steven Anhold (SO/Churchville, VA) put together a career-best performance, placing 14th overall in a time of 27:06. Rylan Hincher (FR/North Wilkesboro, NC) finished right behind Anhold in 15th with a time of 27:13. Hincher's performance earned him a spot on the AAC All-Freshman Team. Holden Dixon (FR/Chocowinity, NC) earned a top-20 finish, placing 20th in a time of 27:22. Brandon Welborn (SO/Traphill, NC) rounded out the scoring effort for the Cavaliers, placing 24th with a time of 27:44. 

In his final cross country race for the Cavaliers, senior Erik Rodriguez (SR/Euless, Texas) placed 29th in a time of 27:58 while Daniel Angarita (FR/Miller's Creek, NC) placed 41st in a time of 28:32. Lee Wooden (FR/Rock Hill, SC) placed 58th with a time of 29:51 and senior Joshua Kilgo (SR/Waxhaw, NC) placed 67th ina time of 31:20.

Montreat finished with 81 points to take 3rd place as a team, just behind Truett-McConnell (75) and ahead of Tennessee Wesleyan (99) and Bryan (104). Eight of the nine team members finished the race in personal-best times despite the the rough racing conditions

"I am extremely proud of how the guys came out and competed today," said head coach Jason Lewkowicz. "They bought in to the race plan and executed it as well as they could have. To get eight personal best times in these conditions is amazing and is evidence of the heart and effort that these men put into the race. We were hoping for a higher team finish but, at the end of the day, we could not have raced any better and you have to tip your hat to Milligan and Truett-McConnell for racing well. We came into this race as pretty much the youngest team there and this effort shows that the future is very bright here at Montreat."

In the women's race, a short-handed women's team battled through a race course that had been beaten up by the men a few minutes earlier, and came though ith a 7th place team finish, a two spot improvement from 2014. Madeline Carter (FR/Elkin, NC) led the way for Montreat, finishing 30th with a time of 22:13. Alona Kosenko (SO/Charlotte, NC) fnished 35th in a time of 22:35 while Samantha Gaskill (SR/Wilmington, NC) was close behind, finishing 38th in a time of 22:54. Sarah Smith (FR/Orlando, FL) placed 61st in a time of 25:00 and teammate Tori Combs (JR/Deep Run, NC) rounded out the scoring effort for the Cavaliers, finishing 64th in a time of 25:10. Victoria Swan (FR/Milton, WI) battled through injuries to complete the race in 92nd in a time of 33:00.

"The women came out and competed really well today," said Lewkowicz. "They had the tough task of taking on the race course after the men had chewed it up and they truly looked like they had been in battle after they crossed the finish line. All of them gave tremendous effort today and, in a race where the conditions really slowed times down, they came through with their strongest performance of the season. I am extremely proud of all of them."

Lewkowicz would go on to add, "I think we took a big step in the right direction this season. We were a really young team on both sides and only lose one senior from the scoring members. The experience we gained this year will carry over into track season and we will look to gain confidence going forward. More than anything, I love the attitude and effort that this team showed throughout the season. They bought into the training plan and we were able to rally around the idea of using our running as a means of honoring God. We've talked all season long about using our platform as runners to make much of Christ and to glorify Him in all that we do. As we continue to grow and improve, this will continue to be our foundation. I am so grateful to be a part of what God is doing at Montreat College and to be the coach of this amazing team." 

The teams will take a short break before kicking off the indoor track season on December 3 at Liberty University and December 5 at the JDL Complex in Winston-Salem, NC.