Elizabethton, TN - Bryan College captured the NAIA Region XII and Appalachian Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship in convincing fashion Saturday, by placing five athletes in the top nine positions. The championship was hosted by the Milligan College at Sycamore Shoals State Park. Bryan totaled 29 points as the host Milligan finished second with 54. King College took the third team slot with 129 points. Individually for the Lions, Daniel Goetz led the way with a second place finish and time of 25:50.80 over the eight-kilometer course. Milligan's Ben Ronoh took the individual crown in 25:27.10.
Bryan's took the five through seven spots, as Josh Bradley, Zach Buffington and Bryson Harper ran 26:51.80, 26:53.70, and 26:57.70 respectively. Bryan's Zach Mobley rounded out the scoring for the Lions with a ninth place finish and time of 27:04.70. Andrew Dorn and Hunter Hall also ran well to finish 16th and 18th overall. Goetz, Bradley, Buffington, Harper and Mobley were all named to the All-Region and All-Conference Teams. Harper, Mobley and Matt Albin were selected to the All-Freshmen team. Bryan's program was reinstated in 2005 and saw the program finish sixth in it's first year and ran to a runner-up finish in 2006.
"Our men came in as the favorites and performed well. Milligan was aggressive in the early going, but our guys did a good job of keeping their composure and continuing to race late. It's exciting to see these young guys run so well. This is the time of year to be at your best and we are looking forward to competing at the National Championship in two weeks," said coach Rodney Stoker. "I feel that Goetz's experience is what allows him to run patiently and do what I ask of him. Bradley was as sharp as I've ever seen him in cross country and while Buffington wasn't at a hundred percent, he kept it together and did a good job for us. Harper and Mobley continue to close the gap on our top three which makes us a much more solid program."
With it's victory, Bryan qualified for the NAIA National Championship and will travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin to compete on November 17th.