SHREVEPORT, La. - In the closest finish in Southeran Collegiate Athletic Conference history, the Trinity University Tigers edged out the Colorado College Tigers to capture the SCAC Men's Cross Country Championship on Saturday morning at Clyde Fant Course by the campus of Centenary College. Team Results| Individual Results | Official Website | Facebook Photo Album
Trinity finished with 28 points in the 8K run, followed by Colorado College with 29 points. For the Tigers, it is their second straight SCAC Championship as well as their second in school history.
The previous closest men's race had been in 1997 when Rhodes College defeated Trinity by seven points (47-54).
The Trinity men had six runners finish in the Top 10 while Colorado College had four runners in the Top 10 including the top individual performance coming from junior Nick Hall. Hall repeated as SCAC Runner-of-the-Year for 2013 as he finished with a tme of 25:44.1
Sophomore Taylor Piske finished second to lead the Tigers with a time of 26:17.7 followed by four straight Tiger runners in places 5-9 including senior Gerardo Hernandez (fifth - 26:44.0), sophomore Chris Soto (sixth- 26:45.4), sophomore Phillip Flagg (seventh- 27:13.1), and freshman Tristan Ashton (eighth - 27:15.9).
Following Hall for the Tigers of Colorado College was junior Will Richmond (third 26:27.2), junior Graham Frank (26:33.4), freshman Ezra Coopersmith (ninth - 27:19.4), and freshman Ryan Bing (12th - 27:36.4).
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| Tristan Ashton, Trinity University 2013 SCAC Freshman-of-the-Year |
Nick Hall, Colorado College 2013 SCAC Runner-of-the-Year |
Trinity's Ashton, by virtue of his top finish among all first-year runners, was named the 2013 SCAC Freshman-of-the-Year. Freshman Evan Epps (10th - 27:27.0) and junior Brandon Douglas (14th - 27:45.8) were also named to the All-SCAC Team due to their top finishes.
The University of Dallas, led by freshman All-SCAC runner Gabriel Marasigan (13th - 27:38.5), finished third overall with a score of 91. Fellow freshman Kevin Doherty added a 20th place finish (28:34.1) while sophomore Jack Grubner (24th - 29:26.6), junior Aaron French (25th - 30:04.5), and senior Nick Hedlesky (29th - 30:50.5) rounded out a great performance by the Crusaders.
Southwestern University placed fourth with a team score of 99 as junior Alex Medrano earned All-SCAC honors with an 11th place finish and a time of 27:29.8. Senior Joe Sponsel (23rd - 29:19.7), senior Alec Bergerson (27th - 30:28.0), senior Phillip Davis (31st - 30:55.0) and freshman Charlie Hutchinson (32nd - 31:17.9) rounded out the top five for the Pirates.
Centenary College placed fifth with a team score of 155 as junior Andrew Borel led the way with a 33:25.9 time followed by junior Horacio D'Agostino.
Sophomore Kevin Perez of Schreiner University added a 22nd place finish with a time of 29:11.8. The Mountaineers did not place due to having fewer than five runners.
2014 All-SCAC Team
1 - Nick Hall, Colorado College - 25:44.1
2 - Taylor Piske, Trinity University - 26:17.7
3 - Will Richmond, Colorado College - 26:27.2
4 - Graham Frank, Colorado College - 26:33.4
5 - Gerardo Hernandez, Trinity University - 26:44.0
6 - Chris Soto, Trinity University - 26:45.4
7 - Phillip Flagg, Trinity University - 27:13.1
8 - Tristan Ashton, Trinity University - 27:15.9
9 - Ezra Coopersmith, Colorado College - 27:19.4
10 - Evan Epps, Trinity University - 27:27.0
11 - Alex Medrano, Southwestern University - 27:29.8
12 - Ryan Bing, Colorado College - 27:36.4
13 - Gabriel Marasigan, University of Dallas - 27:38.5
14 - Brandon Douglas, Trinity University - 27:45.8
After the race, SCAC Assistant Commissioner James Hill caught up with the top two men's finishers, the Freshman of the Year, as well as Trinity head coach Derick Lawrence.
To listen to an interview with the 2013 SCAC Runner Runner of the Year, Nick Hall of Colorado College, click here.
To listen to second-place finisher, Taylor Piske of Trinity University, click here.
To listen to Freshman of the Year, Tristan Ashton of Trinity University, click here.
To listen to Trinity University head coach Derick Lawrence, click here.
