Mercer University
SoCon Championships
Bears Have a Strong Finish at SoCon Championship
10/30/2022 4:02:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
JOHN'S ISLAND, S.C. – The Mercer men return to Macon with a top-three team finish at the Southern Conference Championships hosted by the Citadel at John's Island County Park. The Lady Bears come home in 6th, tying for a program-best finish in the conference.Â
See the full results and times here.
"I'm really proud of both groups for matching our program's best-ever finish at the Conference Championship," said Coach Hayman. "We come home with very few regrets knowing that we put together a good day and ran at our best. "
MEN'S RACE (8K)
The Mercer men ran a new school record team average of 25:14 on way to their top 3 team finish.
The team was led by Vlad Zander-Velloso, who finished 6th overall in another record-breaking performance. He lowered his time by 24 seconds to establish the program's top time in history. His 6th place finish earned him a place on the SoCon's 1st All-Conference Team. This is the first time ever that a Bear has been recognized for the honor.Â
"Vlad's 1st team all conference finish was the greatest performance of any student-athlete I've ever had the fortune to work with," said Coach Hayman. "He has come so far since his freshman year and embodies that hard work pays off."
Leaders, Josh Kraver (17th, 25:12), Jonathan Greene (20th, 25:17), Reece Cato (25th, 25:25), and for the first time scoring for the Bears this season Chinmay Dongari (34th, 25:51) closed out the scoring for the Bears.Â
In the end, the depth of the Bears through their 6th and 7th runners of Yianni Pothoulakis (39th, 26:06) and Buck Ledford (46th, 26:19) respectively was what assisted Mercer in edging out UNC-Greensboro for the 3rd place team finish.Â
Personal Bear Records Broken:
- Josh KraverÂ
- Chinmay DongariÂ
- Yianni PotholaukisÂ
- Sebasthian RosriguezÂ
UP NEXT
Both teams will travel to Huntsville, Ala. for the 2022 NCAA South Region Championship on Nov. 11.
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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