MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The 2024 Southern Athletic Association Men's Cross Country Championships saw a tightly contested 8k race with Centre, Berry and Oglethorpe battling for the top spot in the league. The Colonels finished in third place with a combined team score of 49 points.

The Colonels' 49 points were just shy of second place Oglethorpe, who finished with 45 points. Berry took first place with 36 points as the top three teams in the field accounted for 17 of the top 20 times in the race.

Individually, the top time of the day for the Centre men came from Mitchel Meier, who cracked the top five with an 8k time of 25:33.14, good for fifth place overall and a spot on the All-SAA First Team.

Two more Colonels made it to the individual top ten and earned spots on the All-SAA Second Team list. Reeve VanDemark finished just behind Meier in sixth place with a time of 25:48.57. He was followed closely by James Schroeder, who continued a breakthrough season with his first career All-SAA nod, finishing tenth overall with a time of 25:59.54, just seconds shy of a personal best time.

Sophomore Duke Wilson hit a personal best time for the fourth consecutive 8k race, clocking in at 26:08.74 to finish 12th overall for his first career All-SAA Honorable Mention. Freshman Max Germann finished 18th with a time of 26:39.21 to cap off Centre's scored times, with Carter Russell finishing one spot later at 26:48.17.

AWARD WINNERS

Mitchel Meier - All-SAA First Team
Reeve VanDemark - All-SAA Second Team
James Schroeder - All-SAA Second Team
Duke Wilson - All-SAA Honorable Mention

NEXT UP

Centre men's cross country will race again on Nov. 16 as the Colonels compete in the Great Lakes Regional Championships.