COMPLETE RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY

The High Point University men's cross country team placed three runners in the top four en route to a runner-up finish at the Big South Championship on Saturday at Quail Creek Golf Club at Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. Junior Jacob Smith led the team with a runner-up finish in a career-best time of 24:14.

"We ran very well up front and had a good performance today, unfortunately it wasn't enough to beat Liberty," said HPU head coach Mike Esposito. "Jacob Smith and Patrick Crawford did what they needed to do. Neal Darmody had an exceptional race after he has struggled this season. It was a good performance but we didn't have the depth to beat Liberty."

The Flames won the team title and topped High Point, 33-40. VMI finished third with 83 points followed by Campbell (120) and Winthrop (139). Radford placed sixth with 168 points followed by Coastal Carolina (197), UNC Asheville (223), Charleston Southern (236) and Gardner-Webb (263). It was the fifth year in a row that High Point finished second in the Big South Championship.

The top five runners emerged from the pack and separated themselves from the field: Smith, Patrick Crawford and Neal Darmody for the Panthers as well as Liberty's Zac Edwards and Winthrop's Adam Freudanthal. About halfway through the race, Edwards made a move that nobody could cover and ran to an 18-second victory in a course-record 23:56.

Smith and Crawford established themselves in the 2-3 positions. Smith finished in 24:14 and Crawford a second behind in 24:15, both setting career bests for 8K in cross country.

Darmody trailed Freudanthal going into the last mile and made a move into fourth place going into the final stretch. Darmody held off Freudanthal going into the chute and placed fourth in 24:28.

The 2-3-4 finish wasn't enough to lift High Point to victory as Liberty placed four runners in the top eight and five in the top 11. David Ricksecker, Caleb Edmonds and Josh MacDonald came through in the 6-8 positions for the Flames.

Junior Dakota Peachee placed 15th in 25:19 and freshman Reece Ayers placed 16th in 25:21. Ayers earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors.

Senior Mike Ali had a career-best run, placing 19th in 25:32, just ahead of sophomore John Yankello, who finished 21st in 25:36. Freshman Chris Colo placed 24th in 25:44 and junior Jonathan Riley placed 26th in 25:52. Senior Mike Feroe was HPU's final runner in 36th with a time of 26:12.

In addition to Ayers' Freshman of the Year honor, Smith, Crawford and Darmody all earned All-Big South honors.

Darmody was named Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He is a three-time Millis Scholar-Athlete and three-time Big South Presidential Honor Roll member majoring in Exercise Science.

The Panthers are back in action in two weeks when they compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 12. The Panthers will vye for a berth to the NCAA Championship on Nov. 21.