Men's Cross Country Claim Runner-up Team Honors at MIAA Championships

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Cross Country/Track
Men's Cross Country Claim Runner-up Team Honors at MIAA Championships
By
Oct 21, 2006, 18:45

The Southwest Baptist University men’s cross country team finally got out of the hole.

For the last 16 years, SBU had been relegated to last place in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association cross country championships. The Bearcats had also been shut out from having any male athlete earn all-conference honors since entering the MIAA in 1987.

The #16 Bearcats, who were picked last in the preseason MIAA poll, finished second to defending champion #11 Missouri Southern State University, who claimed their sixth title in seven years. The runner-up finish surpassed the former all-time program best sixth place in 1990.

MSSU claimed the team title with 47 points, followed by SBU (70 points), Central Missouri (72 points), Fort Hays State (86 points), Northwest Missouri State (128 points), Truman State (129 points), Pittsburg State (155 points), and Emporia State (196 points).

Senior T. Jay Sanderson claimed the first MIAA individual title in program history in a time of 24:43 on the flat, fast 8000m course. Sophomore Michael Pierce added the second All-MIAA performance for the Bearcats with a seventh place finish in 25:06. A trio of freshmen helped seal the runner-up team finish, spearheaded by Jeremy Glassmaker in 15^th place with a time of 25:28. Michael McCampbell (22^nd, 25:52) and Timmy Specht (25^th, 25:59) both cracked the 26 minute barrier for the first time in their career.

Many SBU athletes had breakout performances, including sophomore Vince Tichenor (45^th, 26:35), freshman David Hackney (46^th, 26:38), and sophomore Andrew Bly (56^th, 27:08). Freshmen Josh Rollins (59^th, 27:19) and Cameron Ayers (60^th, 27:30) finished out the Bearcat competitors.

The Bearcats will attempt to qualify for their first-ever appearance at the 2006 NCAA Championships in two weeks when they travel to the University of Central Missouri for the South Central Regional Championships. SBU will need to finish in the top-3 at the regional meet to advance to the national championship.