The Lee University men's cross country team placed all seven runners among the first 20 to win their second consecutive and fourth overall NCAA Division II South Region Championship. The 10K race was held at Holloway Park.
The Flames posted 41 points to finish 27 points ahead of runner-up Mississippi College (68). MC and third-place Embry-Riddle (85 points) join Lee in earning the South Region's three automatic qualifications to the 2022 NCAA DII Championships. Alabama Huntsville and Saint Leo rounded out the top five with 97 and 165 points, respectively.
"Our men finally put it all together," said Lee head coach Caleb Morgan. "We had our top five together through 7K. It was a great team effort. Glad to see Will Stone come away with a fantastic individual performance."
Stone was Lee's first runner to cross the finish line. He recorded a time of 30:53.6 to place third behind Mississippi College's Jan Lucas Becker (30:40.3) and UAH's Sam Wilhelm (30:49.2) in a field of 124 runners.
Aaron Himes and Silas Eckenroad were the next two Flames to finish. Himes (31:01.6) was eighth and Eckenroad placed ninth (31:09.6). Matthew Fowler and Hayden Judge were Lee's final two scorers. Fowler was 12th (31:15.3), while Judge finished 13th (31:27.0).
Evan Moore stopped the clock at 31:38.2 for 16th place. Ezekiel Harless was the final Lee runner to complete the race. He posted a time of 31:40.6 and was 18th overall.
"We are peaking at the right time and doing our best running right now. Nationals should be a lot of fun," added Morgan.
The Flames will complete the season on December 2 at the NCAA DII Championships, which will be held at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Washington.
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