Hayley Clark, Sports Information Assistant
Rocky Mount, NC.-
Over the weekend the Mountaineers completed in the USA South Conference Championships. Berea earned a perfect team score of 15 points to win the championships for the third year in a row and best the second place team, Covenant College, by 55 points. Coach Shawn Jakubowski was voted Coach of the Year while senior Logan McKenzie was voted Runner of the Year and freshman Luke Wilson was voted Rookie of the Year.
The Mountaineers had six athletes finish as First Team All-Conference. Logan McKenzie led the charge winning the 8K race in a time of 25:27. Following closely behind was Luke Wilson in 2nd place in 25:40. Wilson's finish earned him a spot as First-Team All-Conference. Four other athletes also earned First-Team honors. Sophomore Sair Salgado finished 3rd in 25:42, senior Tanner Carson placed 4th in 25:46, sophomore Tyler Little finished 5th in 25:57 and sophomore Avery Fair placed 7th in 26:14.
The next Mountaineer across the line was senior Caleb Flege who placed 22nd in 27:08 to earn Honorable Mention honors. Closely behind Flege was freshman Colton Bullington finishing 25th (27:16), sophomore Isaiah West finishing 26th (27:16), sophomore Johnathon West finishing 29th (27:27), sophomore Gabriel Johnson finishing 30th (27:30), and senior Brandon Yearout finishing 48th (28:41).
Next up for Berea is the South/Southeast Regional Championships hosted by Rhodes College on November 16th. The Mountaineers will look to improve upon their impressive third-place finish from last year and qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships for the second year in a row.