Manchester Selected to Repeat as HCAC Men’s Cross Country Champs

GREENWOOD, IN – Manchester College’s men’s cross country team has been selected as the front runner to win the 2010 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. In a poll of the ten HCAC head coaches, the Spartans received 98 total points and eight first place votes. 

Anderson University will strive for its first title since 2007, as the Ravens totaled 89 points and two first place votes.  Franklin College placed third in the poll with 80 points and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology finished fourth with 72 points.  Defiance College finished fifth with 57 points and was followed by Earlham College (47 points), Hanover College (45), College of Mount St. Joseph (26), Bluffton University (19), and Transylvania University (17).

Manchester captured their first HCAC cross country championship last fall and returns four runners that earned First-Team All-HCAC honors.  Juniors Braden Nelson (Angola, Ind./H.S.) and Alec Womboldt (Dewitt, Mich./H.S.) placed third and fourth respectively last fall and are the top two returning runners in the HCAC this season.  Senior Cole Jackson (Logansport, Ind./H.S.) placed 11^th overall for the Spartans last fall, while sophomore Calvin Cook (Plymouth, Ind./H.S.) placed 12^th to earn the final spot on the All-HCAC squad.

Anderson finished 32 points behind the first-place Spartans last season and placed second at the meet.  The Ravens return the core of last year’s team which includes four First-Team All-HCAC members.  AU’s quartet placed seventh through tenth at the meet and will look to move up the leader board in October.  Sophomore Kirk Saunders (Bloomington, Ill./University) earned Freshman of the Year honors after placing seventh and will try and contend for the conference title this season.  Juniors Taylor Holmes (Monticello, Ind./Twin Lakes) and Jake Wyatt (Hudson, Ind./Prairie Heights) will look to improve upon their top ten finishes to help the Ravens claim their 10^th HCAC title.

Franklin College placed third at last year’s meet after winning the conference crown in 2008.  The blue and gold’s key returnee will be senior Jacob Hojnacki (LaPorte, Ind./H.S.).  The senior earned First-Team All-HCAC honors with a fifth place finish at last fall’s meet and will strive to carry the torch for the 2010 version of the Grizzlies.  Senior Kevin Martin (Mitchell, Ind./H.S.) earned Honorable Mention All-HCAC honors last year after a 17^th place finish. 

The 2010 HCAC Men’s Cross Country Championship is set for Saturday, October 30.  The event will be hosted by Transylvania University.

The 2010 men’s cross country season is set to begin on September 2.

Runners to Watch