LAKELAND, Fla. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) men's cross-country team finished 20^th out of 21 teams from 23 represented schools at the 2019 NCAA Division II South Region Championships hosted by Florida Southern College at Holloway Farms on Saturday morning.
 
In their team debut at the Regional Championships, the Badgers finished with a total of 506 points and a combined team time of 3:01:47 over the 10,000-meter course. The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) won the team title with 52 points and a combined time of 2:43:17. SHC runners averaged a time of 36:22 while UAH runners averaged 32:40.
 
Freshman Will Tate of Edgewood, Ky., was the top Badger finisher with a time of 35:14.25 to finish in 81^st position with 80 points and senior Joe Butler of Kirkwood, Mo., was 92^nd out of 147 runners for 90 points. The 2019 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Individual Champion Mathew Chesum of Benedict also won the individual regional crown in a time of 31:48.83.
 
Also scoring for SHC were freshman TJ Gennari of Chelsea, Ala., in 101^st place with a mark of 36:05.40 and 98 points; sophomore Elijah Paige from Gulfport, Miss., in 116^th place and a time of 36:56.74 for 113 points; and freshman Aaron Foster of Wetumpka, Ala., placed 128^th at 37:49.94 for 125 points.
 
Sophomore Conner Moore of Spanish Fort, Ala. came in at 134^th in 39:09.95 and sophomore Brian Pempel, also from Spanish Fort, rounded out the day for SHC in 140^th place and a time of 42:31.39.
 
After the meet, SHC head coach Craig McVey said, "Today was our first men's full-team NCAA Regional and you always want to place higher, but even with several seniors, this group is still young. They learned a lot today and the learning curve will be good to us. We had only one runner (Butler) who had ever gone 10k before, so while "new" is not the right word, let's say it was 'uncharted territory' for us. They now know what they have to do to be where we want to be."
 
McVey summed up his thoughts, "We've had a great season with a lot of firsts while closing out our second NCAA DII season. Back-to-back women's conference titles, a men's conference runner-up finish, school record team averages, and a host of personal bests - credit goes to everyone on our squads for helping us get to where we are and to our seniors that have helped develop a culture that has set us on course for amazing things in the near future."