Men’s Cross Country Takes 3rd at SoCon Championships, Best Mark in Over 10 Years
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's cross country team finished third overall at The 2024 Southern Conference (SoCon) Championships on Saturday at Furman Golf Course.
The Spartans' third-place finish is the best mark since the 2012* season when UNCG was crowned champion. This is the fifth* time in program history that UNCG has finished third or better.
Furman earned its 12th-straight title with 15 points. Western Carolina was the runner-up with 94 points, while the Spartans totaled 108 points, good for third.
Senior Colin Keck led the charge for the Blue & Gold, finishing 12th out of 80 competitors, for the best SoCon Championship finish in his career. He clocked in a time of 25:10.5 in the eight-kilometer race and earned his first-career All-Conference second team award. This is the third-straight year and seventh time in eight years that UNCG has had at least one Spartan make an All-Conference team.
Juniors Andrew Hamilton and Luke Ward were the next Spartans across the finish line, placing 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Hamilton ran the race in 25:46.7, while Ward clocked in a time of 25:50.4. Both marks were career-bests for the juniors.
The Spartans had another duo who finished back-to-back, including freshman Logan Ruffner and sophomore Tyler Niloff, taking 29th and 30th place, respectively. Ruffner clocked in a time of 26:04.9 and Niloff finished the race in 26:06.9. Ruffner earned a spot on the All-Freshman team and is the first Spartan to earn the honor since 2018 when UNCG had two placed on the team.
Junior Evan Pena placed 37th overall with a time of 26:30.6 and senior Ethan Long rounded out the team points, finishing 45th with a time of 26:54.8.
Sophomore Khalid Abdullahi (50th place) and freshman Pierson Guerrant (51st place) rounded out the Spartan runners.
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The 2024 NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships will follow on Friday, Nov. 15 in Rock Hill, South Carolina, at Winthrop Farm.
NOTE: The 2011 SoCon Championship was later vacated.
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