Bears to Host SoCon Championships Saturday

MACON, Ga. – For the first time as members of the Southern Conference, the Mercer Bears will host the cross country championships with the meet set for Saturday morning.

Coach Josh Hayman's squad is familiar with the location – the Georgia Premier Cross Country Course – having run two meets there thus far. The Mercer women successfully defended their home course in the season opening Julius Johnson Invitational (Sept. 19) while the men bested three SoCon schools on Oct. 30.

"We're thrilled to host the Southern Conference Championships and have another opportunity to defend our home course," said Hayman. "There are many talented teams within the conference, but we are ready for the challenge. It has been an exciting season for the Bears and both teams are looking to carry momentum into tomorrow's meet."

MEET INFO
Name: SoCon Championships
Date: Nov. 20, 2020
Host: Mercer
Location: Macon, Ga. | Georgia Premier Cross Country Course
Course Map: Click Here
Race Distances: 5K (women), 8K (men)
Race Time: 10:00 a.m. (men), 10:45 a.m. (women)
Live Stats: bit.ly/2IS7O7h (M), bit.ly/2IS846f (W)
Live Video: MercerBearsXCTF (Instagram)

On Sept. 19, Ashley McMahon's victory helped the Bears "light the bridge" and pick up the team victory. McMahon claimed her first collegiate individual win in the 5K with time of 18:46.66. In the meet, Mercer also had strong performances from Zoe Sanchez (7^th), Giulia Giorgi (8^th) and Marina Van Sickle (10^th) as the women's squad accumulated 41 points, narrowly defeating in-state rival Georgia State. The Panthers finished with 43 points.

After meets at Florida State and UAB, the Bears returned home to close out the regular season. This time, it was the Mercer men who turned the bridge on Mercer University Drive from white to orange. Josiah Jaqua and Reece Cato claimed the top-two spots while Rob Zell came home fourth to help the Bears (29 points) defeat the Samford Bulldogs (50 points), Chattanooga Mocs (55 points) and Point Skyhawks (96 points).

Spectators are permitted to attend the event. Masks or face coverings are mandatory while at the competition site, and spectators will not have access to the participants until the conclusion of the awards ceremony.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Cross Country, follow the team at @MercerXCTF (Twitter), /mercerxctf (Facebook) and @mercerbearsxctf (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

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Players Mentioned

Reece Cato

Giulia Giorgi

Josiah Jaqua

Ashley McMahon

Zoe Sanchez

Marina Van Sickle

Rob Zell

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