Berry Cross Country Prepares to Race at Region XIII/SSAC Championship Meet (Greater Rome Times)

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Berry Cross Country Prepares to Race at Region XIII/SSAC Championship Meet

By Berry Athletic Department

Published Nov 3, 2006
(Updated Dec 26, 2006)

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The Berry cross country teams will race in the NAIA Region XIII Championships this Saturday. Going into the race both Vikings teams are ranked No. 1 in the region. This year the race is hosted by Belhaven in Clinton, Miss. Harriers from around Region XIII will compete for a bid to the NAIA National Championships.

Additionally, the meet will serve as the Southern States Athletic Conference Championships. Runners from the SSAC will have their scores tallied separately from the Gulf Coast Conference.

The races are hosted at Mississippi College’s Choctaw Trails on Nov. 4. The women’s 5k will begin at 8:00 a.m., followed by the men’s 8k at 8:30.

Only 12 runners from each race will advance to the NAIA National Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Ky. on Nov. 18. The school that wins the region championship will send a team of seven runners to the national meet. The next five individuals not from the winning team will also advance to nationals.

Berry’s Nicole Degner will be a favorite to win the women’s race. Degner has had a strong season after breaking the 18-minute barrier at the Georgia State Invitational on Oct. 7. She has won four of the five races she has entered this season.

The other top-five women in the region over the course of the season have been: Leah Derringer of Reinhardt, Annie Houghton of Lee and Ashley Andereck and Becky Ament of Berry.

After finishing fifth at nationals in 2005, David Kawa of Berry is expected to win the men’s race. His best time of 24:50 this season came with his win at Cedarville’s Friendship Invitational.

Berry’s men have maintained a close pack in every race this season; however, they will have several individuals brining them tough competition. Jared Godsave of Shorter finished at the Southeast Classic in 27:33, Jordan Turner of Reinhardt finished in 27:40, while Berry’s pack of five finished within 18 seconds of each other with a spread from 27:56 to 28:14.

This weekend will not be the first time the member schools of the SSAC have faced each other. The pre-conference meet held at Berry College on Sept. 9 featured all of the conference schools with the exception of Southern Wesleyan. Berry’s women came in first place, followed by Lee, Reinhardt, Shorter and Brenau, respectively. On the men’s side, Berry came in first followed by Shorter, Reinhardt and Lee.

Multiple honors will be awarded at the meet. The top-7 finishers in the conference will be named First Team All-Conference, with the next seven earning Second Team All-Conference honors. Coach of the Year and Runner of the Year honors will also be given, as well as Academic-All Conference awards.

With the meet being scored in conjunction with the region meet, even more awards will be handed out. Once again first team, second team, runner of the year and coach of the year plaques will be presented.

While each race will advance 12 individuals to the national meet, for the majority of the runners, Saturday will be a capstone to their season.

The Vikings have won the Region XIII Championship since the regions were realigned in 2004.This is the third year the Vikings will compete in the SSAC Championships; Berry has claimed both the men’s and women’s titles since joining the conference in 2004.

Region XIII Ratings:

Women’s Teams: