Men's Cross Country | 11/5/2016 9:54:00 AM

Montevallo, Ala.----The Wingate University men's cross country team finished 14th out of 24 teams in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region championship meet Saturday at the University of Montevallo Cross Country Course. The Bulldogs recorded 345 points, only four points behind number 12 Georgia College (complete results).
 
Bulldog sophomore Dalton Cox (Sanford, N.C.) completed an outstanding season by finishing 35th with a 10K time of 32:14.02. Cox was Wingate's top finisher in six-of-six meets this season. Two weeks ago, he finished 14th in the South Atlantic Conference championship meet to earn a spot on the All-SAC second team.
 
WU freshman Rodrigo Silva de la Pena (Durango, Mexico) and senior Dustin Hickernell (Fleetwood, N.C.) were second and third, respectively, on the Bulldog charts. Silva de la Pena was 76th with a 10K time of 33:27.02, while Hickernell was eight places back in 84th place with his 10K time of 33:41.55.

"I was happy to see the development which is happening with the men's XC program," Wingate head cross country coach Ashley Glover says. "Dalton Cox led the men today while improving eighty-nine places on his 2015 regional finish."
 
"We saw new leadership today out of Rodrigo Silva de la Pena and Dustin Hickernell, who stepped into the second and third place scoring slots for the team," Glover says. "I look forward to building on this in the winter and spring during the track season. These guys have some great things ahead of them." 
 
Wingate sophomore Stephen Wofford (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) and freshman Julian Irigoyen (Bakersfield, Calif.) completed Wingate's counting scores with 10K times of 33:48.73 (87th) and 34:07.90 (93rd), respectively. Senior Jacob Troutman (Aberdeen, N.C.) posted a 10K time of 34:20.79, while junior Alex Tidwell (Monroe, N.C.) ran a 34:56.93 10K race.
 
For the second year in a row, the University of Mount Olive won the team title. The Trojans posted 57 points with five runners in the top 24. The South Atlantic Conference will send two teams to nationals, as Mars Hill (77 points) and Queens (101 points) occupied the second and third spots on the team leader board.
 
Mount Olive junior Adam Craig (Lauder, Scotland) won the individual title, thanks to a 10K time of 29:49.03. Craig was the only student-athlete to break the 30-minute barrier Saturday. The top SAC finisher was league Runner of the Year and Mars Hill senior Nathan Jones (Lenoir City, Tenn.), who claimed fourth place with his 10K time of 30:32.25.