Wednesday, September 10, 2008

MACON, Ga. - It took more than three years, but Belmont's Caleb Swartz captured his second Atlantic Sun Runner of the Week award, the conference office announced on Wednesday.

At the meet that netted the senior his previous Runner of the Week accolade, Swartz won the Belmont-Vanderbilt XC Opener, held on Friday. He ran a time of 15:14.63 in the 5K race to edge out Middle Tennessee's William Songock by a slightly more than a second. His effort helped propel the team to first in the team scores. Belmont tallied 36 points, half the total of the runner-up Middle Tennessee.

As a freshman in 2005 and in his first collegiate meet, the physics major from Radcliff, Ky. native finished fifth with a 5K time of 15:06.30.

The Bruins will be back in action when they travel to Maryville, Tenn. to compete in the UT Invitational on Friday, September 19.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers

Scott Burley, KSU (Sr. - Brockville, Ontario - Chemistry) -- Led the Owls to a third place finish behind Auburn and Alabama at the UTC Powerade Invitational, finishing eleventh with a time of 15:57 in the 5K.

Ryan Chastain, LIP (So. - Mitchell, Ind. - Engineering Mechanics) -- Finished fourth in the Belmont Opener; Recorded best time ever on this course at 15:28; Set his 5K personal record by 17 seconds, despite horrible conditions. Led the team to a fourth place finish and over a minute faster team time on this course than any Lipscomb men's team has ever had.

James Jackson, UPST (Fr. - Aiken, S.C. - Psychology) -- Finished 40th at the Eye Opener 8k on Sept. 6 with a time of 27:17; Has been the number one runner for the USC Upstate Spartan men's cross country team this season, finishing first among his teammates in both the Covered Bridge Open at Eye Opener Invitational.

Will Pearce, UNF (So. - Jacksonville, Fla. - Biology) -- Ran a strong anchor leg in the UNF-JU Relays over the weekend to help lead the Osprey men to a sweep of their cross-town rival. Pearce ran his leg of the mile in 4:53, which tied him for the second best time of the day in the meet.