Date Posted: 11/1/2008

MACON, Ga. - Belmont’s dominance in women’s cross country continued on Saturday as the Bruins won the league title for the seventh time in eight years capturing the 2008 Atlantic Sun Cross Country Championship. The Bruins placed two in the top 10 in defeating their closest competitor, Jacksonville, by 18 points at the Georgia Industrial Children’s Home, hosted by Mercer.

Junior Brittany Thune took control of the race early to finish in front of the competition in 17:39.06 joining her former teammate Lauren Weaver as the only two Belmont women to win the individual A-Sun Championship. The three-time all-conference perfomer and 2006 Freshman of the Year turned in the fastest time at A-Sun Championship since 2005 and the fourth fastest time for a winner in the past 17 years.

“Lauren really helped…develop me as a runner these past couple of years and it’s great for me to continue her legacy and Belmont’s legacy.” Thune said. “It’s been really fun to work with such a young team and help develop them.”

Belmont’s coach Seth Sheridan won his eighth Coach of the Year award. The Bruins swept the awards with Kara Sephel earning Freshman of Year. Sephel led four first-year Bruins on the All-Freshman team. Nicole Muldowney, Shannon Titus and Katelyn Eberhardt joined Sephel as the four fastest freshmen in the race. In the history of the All-Freshmen team, no school had placed more than one runner on that team, let alone the four the Bruins landed on the five-woman team.

“We really wanted to carry on the legacy,” Sephel said. “That was part of our motivation today.”

Jacksonville ended second for its best finish since joining the conference in 1999. Susanne Klungtveit led four Dolphins among the top 14 with a fourth-place finish in 18:14.04. The Dolphins improved their standing for the fourth straight A-Sun Championship. Starting in 2004, Jacksonville had finished eighth, seventh, sixth and fourth prior to this year’s runner-up showing.

Mackenzie Howe from Kennesaw State took second and improved on her eighth-place showing last year, leading the Owls to a third-place finish. Her time of 17:58 marked just the fifth time in the 24-years of competition that the runner-up had broken the 18-minute mark, with the last time occurring in 2005 when former Owl Patricia Hayes took second with a time of 17:17 to Campbell’s Alicia Valtin recording-setting mark of 16:56.

Lipscomb came in a program-best fourth followed by Campbell and UNF. USC Upstate improved their record to seventh and ETSU took eighth. FGCU, Stetson and Mercer rounded out the team standings.

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.

Related Links:
 • Final Results
 • Championship Coverage