MACON, Ga. – The Spring Hill College women's cross country team placed third, while the men took fourth at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Cross Country Championship at the Georgia Premier Cross Country Course on Friday.
 
The Lady Badgers placed third out of 13 teams in the 5k, scoring 72 points while being led by Madeline Knightly (20:34.36), who finished sixth overall and earned All-SIAC honors. Knightly was followed by Claire Morgan, who stopped the clock at 21:42.02 in ninth and earned All-Conference honors. Cat Dulle finished 13^th with a time of 21:59.21. A notable performance came from Scout Paulus in her collegiate cross country debut, finishing 18^th overall while establishing a personal record of 23:11.86. Jordan Jernigan (24:08.49) and Cassidy Dilks (25:36.21) finished 26^th and 39^th, respectively.
 
On the men's side, Spring Hill took fourth place out of 14 teams in the 8k, scoring 104 points. Will Tate led the Badgers in fourth place with a time of 27:09.37. Myles Cook placed 10^th and stopped the clock at 27:58.18. Both Tate and Cook earned All-SIAC honors for their performances. Thomas Monier crossed the finish line at 30:21.55, good enough for 21^st overall. Freshmen Zachary Thomas (32:29.69) and Mohammed Shahrouj (33:11.40) placed 34^th and 35^th, respectively. Curtis Laurent finished 53^rd with a time of 37:58.72.
 
Meet Information
2022 Cricket SIAC Cross Country Championship
Date: Nov. 4
Venue (Location): Georgia Premier Cross Country Course at Middle Georgia State University (Macon, Ga.)
 
Women's 5k Results
Team Scoring
1) Benedict (26); 2) Albany State (69); 3) Spring Hill (72); 4) Savannah State (113); 5) Central State (147); 6) Clark Atlanta (147); 7) Miles (199); 8) Kentucky State (199); 9) Tuskegee (225); 10) Edward Waters (269); 11) Lane (299); 12) Allen (306); 13) Fort Valley State (326)
 
SHC Individual Results
6) Madeline Knightly (20:34.36); 9) Claire Morgan (21:42.02); 13) Cat Dulle (21:59.21); 18) Scout Paulus 23:11.86); 26) Jordan Jernigan (24:08.49); 39) Cassidy Dilks (25:36.21)
 
Men's 8k Results
Team Scoring
1) Morehouse (31); 2) Benedict (49); 3) Central State (92); 4) Spring Hill (104); 5) Clark Atlanta (138); 6) Savannah State (185); 7) Kentucky State (202); 8) Edward Waters (218); 9) Fort Valley State (237); 10) Tuskegee (272); 11) Miles (280); 12) Lane (312); 13) LeMoyne-Owen (346); 14) Allen (368)
 
SHC Individual Results
4) Will Tate (27:09.37); 10) Myles Cook (27:58.18); 21) Thomas Monier (30:21.55); 34) Zachary Thomas (32:29.69); 35) Mohammed Shahrouj (33:11.40); 53) Curtis Laurent (37:58.72)
 
 
THEY SAID IT – Head Coach Craig McVey
On the championship
"We had the best weather day of our race days this fall for our conference meet on Friday.  56 degrees at race time for the men and 61 for the women and light (3 mph) wind. We've been fortunate to have had the weather we have had for our entire season. We have never raced here [Georgia Premier Cross Country Course] before. Both teams raced really hard and smart. They used the same course, but the men had an extra 3,000 meters of it to deal with.  It was a mix a longer, gradual hills, rolling terrain and a huge amount of the course was side hill [uneven footing that is not level] which affected anyone's ability to establish a personal best.  It also appears depending on the distance run that the course is 30-40 seconds longer by distance. I'm really proud of the way our teams approached this championship. They all went into this like veterans, but they weren't, they have a 'let's
go get it done' mentality that will go a long way down the road, we're just getting started.  We're looking forward to the NCAA South Regional on Nov. 19^th, hosted by Florida Southern, what we'll get done there will help us get to where we want to be."
 
On the men's team
"Both teams we ran Friday are young....our men were missing 4 runners from last year's 3rd place team, but ran really tough, especially for as young as we are.  Having Will [Tate] and Myles [Cook] make the All-Conference Team means something. You had to be really special to make the top-10 on Friday.  Will was 4th last year and this year in a tougher race. Myles was 12^th last year and just missed being All-Conference, but to make the team this year in a tougher meet is fitting,  Our men's squad raced four men who had never competed in a Division II conference meet before, that's the definition of young.  It won't take long to use what they learned to get ready to go to another level."
 
On the women's team
"Our women's team lost four from our 2021 Championship Team [of seven] which is tough.  You don't lose that many of your racing seven and pretend you're the same team.  To our women's team's credit, they have worked so hard to maintain our standard.  We were fortunate to have won three conference titles in a row.  The more you win, the harder it makes it to repeat again. There are not many teams in the country in any division that can say they were a three-time defending conference champion going into this year's meet.  For our women's team to be three points out of second with that many new faces racing for us is a tribute to all of the hard work that team has done. Maddie [Knightly - 6^th] and Claire [Morgan - 9^th] making the All-Conference Team is a big deal.  The top-10 is a tough ten.  They were both All-Conference last year and to receive that honor again is not easy.   Everyone racing for us in the women's race way key in head to head matchups. Cat Dulle's 13th place was big and Scout Paulus' 18th was really big also. "No one does what Scout did in their first, collegiate race!  She had the best, first, cross country race I've seen in my coaching career.  She raced really, really tough and did exactly what we needed her to do!  To place 18^th in a Division II Conference Championship out of 86 runners is nothing short of amazing.  We needed more depth, we asked Scout to join us, she did and the rest is history. We are grateful for her mentality and special effort! "
 
Up Next
The NCAA Regional is scheduled for Nov. 19 at Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla.
 
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