Thursday, October 29, 2009

MACON, Ga. – The first of the Atlantic Sun’s 17 championships takes place on Saturday morning with the Cross Country Championships from the Sperling Sports Complex in DeLand, Fla. Belmont’s women and the ETSU men look to retain the titles they won a year ago in Macon.

Since joining the Atlantic Sun in the fall of 2001, Belmont’s women have dominated the Atlantic Sun Championships, winning seven times in their first eight years in the league. The Bruins debuted with four straight titles (2001-04). Following a second-place showing in 2005, the Bruins have taken each of the last three titles. Prior to Belmont joining the league, only one women’s program, FIU, won at least three straight A-Sun Championships. The Golden Panthers won five straight, 1990 to 1994.

The conference’s two pre-eminent men’s programs, ETSU and Belmont, have traded the top two spots in the coaches’ poll throughout this season following a 2008 Championship that saw the Buccaneers end the Bruins’ six-year stranglehold on the trophy. The Bucs return the top two finishers from 2008, in individual champion Kenneth Rotich and runner-up Ben Ronoh, while the Bruins bring back returning all-conference performers Hillary Cheruiyot and Kip Hill. In two head-to-head meetings, the Bruins have bested the Buccaneers, defeating the champions at the Crimson Classic and at the Greater Louisville XC Classic. The Bruins hold the lead in the final poll, up eight points on the Buccaneers, with Kennesaw State in third, five points further behind.

The Jacksonville women’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams have dominated the conference, winning the last four titles in both sports. Steadily, the cross country program has climbed up the standings, posting better finishes at each of the last four league meets - from eighth in 2004 to second last season. This year, the Dolphins have supplanted Belmont atop the coaches’ poll and have consistently ranked ahead of the Bruins in the USTFCCCA polls. They enter the championship atop the final poll, with Belmont and Kennesaw State sharing second. Elsabeth Goshu, 10th at the 2008 A-Sun Championships, has two individual wins this year. No Florida school has taken home the women’s title since UCF in 1999. In addition, the Knights’ Sonja Shedden (1999, 2000) represents the last female from a Florida institution to win the individual title.

Kennesaw State junior Mackenzie Howe, has emerged as the “face” of women’s cross country in the Atlantic Sun. She has not lost an individual competition since last year’s A-Sun Championships. In recognition of her performances, she found her way onto the pages of Sports Illustrated and the publication’s “Faces in the Crowd” section. To win her first A-Sun title, she must defeat the last person to defeat her, Belmont’s Brittany Thune. Thune beat Howe by 19 seconds at last year’s championships. Thune owns the top two-mile and 5K times in the conference entering the A-Sun Championship. Howe should take caution though, as the last four women to enter the A-Sun Championship with the fastest 5K time have all failed to win the individual title. The Owls received a pair of first-place votes in the final coaches’ poll and share second-place with Belmont.

Competing in the Atlantic Sun for a third year, USC Upstate’s men and women continued moving up within the league. The men, led by freshman Gilbert Kemboi’s three individual victories and three Runner of the Week awards, look to build on 10th and eighth-place finishes at the previous two A-Sun Championships. The Spartan women made their initial appearance in the USTFCCCA regional rankings and climbed as high as fourth in A-Sun coaches’ poll thanks in large part to the effort of Carolyne Chelulei. Like Kemboi, she has won three races and the team has wins at the Wofford Relays and the Eye Opener Invitational.

Not since 1999 has the A-Sun contested the conference meet in the state of Florida when UCF hosted the championship. You have to go back to 1992 to find the last time Stetson and the city of DeLand, Fla., served as the venue. At the Hatter Invitational, held on the championship course two weeks prior, Kennesaw State’s Mackenzie Howe and ETSU’s Kenneth Rotich won the individual honors while the ETSU men and UNF women took home the team trophies. In 30 previous men’s championship, the host has only won six times, with Belmont in 2004 the last to do so. The odds worsen on the women’s side as only four host institutions have captured the conference title in 24 years. Like on the men’s side, Belmont’s 2004 squad won the team title in its home town.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and 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.