Men's Cross Country Schedule -
Women's Cross Country Schedule -
Live Video
ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's and women's cross country teams compete at the Mountain East Conference Championship Saturday morning at Oglebay Resort State Park in Wheeling, West Virginia.
COVERAGE
Video: The Mountain East Conference will produce live streaming video of both races with Concord Sports Information Director
Wes McKinney on the call.
RACE SCHEDULE
The women's 6,000-meter race gets underway at 9:30 a.m.
The men's 8,000-meter race starts at 10:30 a.m.Â
MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
Concord has been in the top three in each of the six MEC Championship meets including winning the title three years in a row (2015-17). The Mountain Lions had their three-year streak of winning MEC Championship snapped last year by Charleston who is nationally-ranked 17
th this season.
CU returns four runners who finished in the top 20 of last year's championship including All-MEC First Team selection
Samuel Haynes.
Andrew Barbera,
Cedric Drennen and
Isaac Prather were All-MEC Second Team. Meanwhile,
Samuel Thomas was All-MEC Second Team on Concord's 2017 Championship team.
The Mountain Lions have had a runner finish in the top two four straight years with
Stephen Starliper (second / 2015),
Jason Weitzel (first / 2016),
Justin Snyder (second / 2016), Snyder (first / 2017), Weitzel (second / 2017) and Weitzel (first / 2018) all having been in contention to win the individual title in the past.
Drennen, Haynes and Prather have all been the top runner for Concord this season, but Drennen has been the lead performer for the Mountain Lions the last three meets. Drennen also has the fastest time for 8,000 meters this season, 25:50 at Lehigh. Haynes ran 25:58 at Roanoke College.
Freshman
Nate Leichner dipped under 26 minutes at Lehigh as well with a time of 25:51. Leichner appears to be in the mix for MEC Freshman of the Year as he is one of three freshmen in the conference go under 26 minutes this season, joining Charleston's Anthony Bradford and Davis & Elkins' Will Lemaster.
WOMEN CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
Concord is the defending conference champions, winning its first MEC Championship and first conference title since 2010. Head coach
Mike Cox lost six of the top seven runners from last year's MEC Championship squad to graduation. Cox is a four-time MEC Coach of the Year in cross country—three times with the men and last season with the women.
In each of her first three seasons, senior
Aidan Payton has been an All-MEC selection including a spot on the All-MEC First Team as a freshman in 2016. She has never finished lower than 13
th at the MEC Championship. Payton has been CU's top runner once this season—at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh.
Freshman
Gretchen Mills has been the lead finisher for the Mountain Lions at four other meets. Mills has gone under 21 minutes twice for 5,000 meters this season including 20:21 at Queens. Mills has just one race at 6,000 meters under her belt, a time of 23:35 at Roanoke College. The time earned ninth at the meet.
Other than Payton and junior
Kate Golinsky, no other current Concord runner has raced at the MEC Championship. As a freshman in 2016, Golinsky took the last spot on the All-MEC Second Team with a 20
th-place showing. Concord has finished in the top three at the MEC Championship in four straight season. Other challengers for a top three spot this season are Davis & Elkins, Charleston, West Virginia Wesleyan, Wheeling and Fairmont State
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