Knoxville, TN – The SCAD Atlanta Men's and Women's Cross Country teams took on the green this Friday for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships to close out their regular season. The race featured highly ranked competition, including both Milligan and Montreat, two of the higher-ranked programs in the NAIA. The Bees took advantage of the field, resulting in 7 SCAD athletes taking NAIA Nationals Qualifying spots. 

Leading the way for the women was Junior Avery Raymond, who claimed 6th place overall in the 6k and earned her first First Team All-Conference Award. She was followed by teammates Ashlyn Vanlandingham, Meredith Larkworthy, and Gray Pershing, who created a great team race and paved the way to a third place finish for the women's team.

On the men's side, the Bees ran as a swarm to place 4 athletes within the top 15. Trent Wells, Paul Moore, William Karim, and Cormac Down ran an assertive race, leading the men to the third place AAC finish. This was the lowest score the men have ever received at the Conference Championships, scoring 65 points, closely following Montreat with 54 points.

WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS (14 Teams)

1. Milligan (20)
2. Montreat (65)
3. SCAD Atlanta (85)
4. Reinhardt (105)
5. Brenau (140)
6. Columbia (S.C.) (192)
7. Bryan (210)
8. Union (Ky.) (257)
9. Truett-McConnell (264)
10. Columbia Int'l (278)

WOMEN'S 6K INDIVIDUAL SCORES (100 Participants):

• 6^th - Avery Raymond (Raymore, Mo. / Sculpture): 21:29 
• 21^st - Ashlyn Vanlandingham (Hebron, Ky. / Animation): 22:22 
• 23^rd - Meredith Larkworthy (Spring, Tex. / UX Design): 22:36 
• 26^th - Gray Pershing (Moseley, Va. / Sculpture): 23:01 
• 46^th - Azalea Snell (Loganville, GA / Illustration): 24:29 
• 79^th - Corinne Sherwin (Morrisville, NC / Interior Design): 28:40 

CONFERENCE AWARDS
First Team All-Conference: Avery Raymond

MEN'S TEAM RESULTS (13 Teams)

1. Milligan (27)
2. Montreat (54)
3. SCAD Atlanta (65)
4. Reinhardt (106)
5. Bryan (184)
6. Tennessee Wesleyan (200)
7. Union (Ky.) (231)
8. Spartanburg Methodist (234)
9. Columbia Int'l (244)
10. Columbia (S.C.) (276)

MEN'S 8K INDIVIDUAL SCORES (100 Participants):

• 7^th - Trent Wells (Shreveport, La. / Game Development): 25:22 
• 12^th - Paul Moore (Pinckney, MI / Industrial Design): 25:52 
• 13^th - Will Karim (Spring, Tex. / Film & Television): 25:53 
• 14^th - Cormac Dow (Hopewell, N.J. / Illustration): 25:56 
• 20^th - Booker LaHue (Corydon, I.N. / Illustration): 26:24 
• 37^th - Aadhick Sivakumar (Piscataway, N.J. / Animation): 27:15 
• 45^th - Ryan Holmes (Ridgewood, N.J. / Acting): 27:30 

CONFERENCE AWARDS

First Team All-Conference Trent Wells
Second Team All-Conference: Paul Moore William Karim, Cormac Dow
All-Freshmen Team: Booker Lahue
 

DID YOU KNOW? This was the lowest score the men's team has achieved in program history, taking third with 65 points. They held a tight spread throughout the race, with a 1:02 difference between the first and fifth runner.

WHAT'S NEXT? As a result of their strong finishes, Trent Wells, Paul Moore, Will Karim, Cormac Dow, Avery Raymond, Ashlyn Vanlandingham, and Meredith Larkworthy will go on to compete at the NAIA National Championships in Tallahassee, Florida on November 21st.