RESULTS

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Lee University men's cross country team placed eight runners among the top 16 finishers to claim the 2022 Gulf South Conference (GSC) Championship Saturday morning at the Montevallo Cross Country Course. The title was the fifth for the Flames and first since 2018.

"This was the first time three Top 25 teams battled it out in GSC history," said Lee head coach Caleb Morgan. "Mississippi College ran a great race. We knew we had to use our depth and have our No. 6 and 7 runners in before their fourth and fifth. That's the only way we could overcome the firepower of their top three in such a small field."

The fifth-ranked Flames put four runners in the top 10 on their way to collecting 38 points to edge No. 11 Mississippi College by three points. The Choctaws claimed the top individual, Jan Lukas Becker, along with the fourth and fifth runners across the finish line to post 41 points for second place. Alabama Huntsville, ranked No. 24, was third with 60 points.

"Our men executed perfectly. This was a big day for Aaron Himes leading our team for the first time. Every single one of these men mattered to today. We couldn't have had one person in our top seven not do their job,"

Himes placed third with a time of 23:53.90, just 3.20 seconds behind Becker (23:50.70). Sam Wilhelm of Alabama Huntsville was second (21:53.20).

Silas Eckenroad (24:02.70) and Will Stone (24:02.98) were the next two Flames to complete the 8K circuit and placed sixth and seventh, respectively. Ezekiel Harless stopped the clock at 24:23.80 to finish 10^th. Evan Moore completed Lee's scorers at 12^th (24:31.40).

Jon Fielding Stogner and Matthew Fowler were Lee's spacers. Stogner (24:32.30) was 13^th, while Fowler was right behind at No. 14 (24:38.10).

Adan Rodriguez was 16^th overall with a mark of 24:47.40. Hayden Judge's time of 25:01.80 put him in 22^nd. Roberto Fajardo was Lee's final runner. He crossed the finish line in 26^th (25:22.80) out of 100.

The Flames advance to the NCAA Division II South Region Championships on November 18. The 10K race with be held at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Florida.