Eagles Win Seventh Straight Sun Conference Cross Country Championship
Results
AVE MARIA, Fla. - Just two weeks after placing well behind No. 24 SCAD Savannah at the Southeast Classic, the Embry-Riddle Eagles Men's Cross Country squad pulled off an upset over the Bees in the 2011 Sun Conference Cross Country Championship. The Eagles put all five scoring runners in the top ten, including first-place finisher Evans Kirwa, to claim their seventh consecutive Sun Conference title.
Kirwa, a three-time NAIA National Runner of the Week, won his third straight Sun Conference Runner of the Year honor, finishing the 8K race in 25:39.84, 55 seconds in front of second-place finisher Ignacio Fernandez from SCAD Savannah.
Fernandez was the first of three Bee runners to place two through four, but Zachary Kraus and Alex Frazier went five, six respectively for the Blue and Gold. Kraus ran a 27:05.74 while Frazier's time of 27:11.37 was nine second faster than finisher No. 7 from Webber International, Brandon Scott.
Josh Guerrero (27:24.39) and Jacob Dordick (27:26.11) finished eighth and ninth for the Eagles, pushing ERAU to the team title. Dordick's time was a personal record for the freshman, posted on a course that was running slow for the rest of the competitors.
The Eagles totaled 29 points, edging SCAD by three points en route to the title. USCB (77), Webber International (96) and Warner (146) all finished in the top five. Johnson & Wales (219), St. Thomas (221), Ave Maria (226) and Florida Memorial (241) finished sixth through ninth respectively.
First Team All-Conference
Evans Kirwa, Embry-Riddle
Ignacio Fernandez, SCAD Savannah
John Sutherland, SCAD Savannah
Tom Koetsenruijter, SCAD Savannah
Zach Kraus, Embry-Riddle
Alex Frazier, Embry-Riddle
Brandon Scott, Webber International
Second Team All-Conference
Josh Guerrero, Embry-Riddle
Jacob Dordick, Embry-Riddle
Marshall Meyer, South Carolina-Beaufort
Hayden Davis, SCAD Savannah
Ben Harrison, SCAD Savannah
Anthony Vecchio, South Carolina-Beaufort
John Golden, SCAD Savannah
Runner of the Year
Evans Kirwa, Embry-Riddle
Newcomer of the Year
Tom Koetsenruijter, SCAD Savannah
Coach of the Year
Mike Rosolino, Embry-Riddle
Champion of Character
Andrew Herzog, SCAD Savannah