BOONE, N.C. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Emmanuel Kirwa (Kapsabet, Kenya) claimed his third straight Southern Conference cross country title since his arrival to lead the Mocs to a third place finish at the 2010 SoCon Cross Country Championships in Boone, N.C. The Lady Mocs, led by senior Anneli Uys (Somerville, Australia) finished fourth overall.
Kirwa ran the 8-kilometer course in a time of 24:29.40, nearly 10 seconds ahead of UNC Greensboro's Joey Thompson. Junior Chris Berry (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) placed fourth overall for the Mocs to earn his third All-Conference selection with a time of 24:41.15, just two seconds out of the runner-up spot.
Freshman Lucas Cotter (Collierville, Tenn.) was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year and an All-Conference second team selection with a 14th place finish in a time of 25:19.01. Cotter was injured earlier this season as a large number of runners lost their footing at the Greater Louisville Classic. Cotter received stitches and did not run another step for two weeks.
Appalachian State captured their sixth straight SoCon title with 55 points followed by UNC Greensboro with 66 points. Chattanooga was third with 74 points followed by Davidson (100), Furman (118) and Elon (153).
On the women's side, Uys, running in her final championship, led the Lady Mocs to a fourth place finish placing seventh overall with a time of 18:12.28 in the 5K race. Junior Tara Gietema (Knoxville, Tenn.) was the second UTC finisher in 19th with a time of 18:52.33 and senior Shelley Taylor was the Lady Mocs' third scoring runner with a time of 19:04.77 finishing 25th.
Samford won the title with 71 points followed by Appalachian State in with 74 points and UNC Greensboro with 87. Chattanooga had 123 points followed by Elon (135) and Furman (144).
The Mocs will return to the course
Team Scores - Men
1. Appalachian State 55
2. UNCG 66
3. Chattanooga 74
4. Davidson 100
5. Furman 118
6. Elon 153
7. Western Carolina 180
8. College of Charleston 197
9. Samford 236
10. The Citadel 278
11. Wofford 292
Team Scores - Women
1. Samford 71
2. Appalachian State 74
3. UNCG 87
4. Chattanooga 123
5. Elon 135
6. Furman 144
7. College of Charleston 149
8. Davidson 161
9. Western Carolina 202
10. Wofford 274
11. The Citadel 319
12. Georgia Southern 357
All-SoCon First Team - Men
1. Emmanuel Kirwa - Senior - Chattanooga
2. Joey Thompson - Junior - UNCG
3. Ryan Hopkins - Junior - Davidson
4. Chris Berry - Junior - Chattanooga
5. Mike Koech - Junior - UNCG
6. Charles McGoogan - Senior - Furman
7. Josey Weaver - Junior - Western Carolina
All-SoCon First Team - Women
1. Ashley Schnell - Junior - UNCG
2. Lauren D'Alessio - Sophomore - Samford
3. Hillary Neal - Senior - Samford
4. Shaina Sumney - Sophomore - UNCG
5. Dena O'Brien - Freshman - College of Charleston
6. Amy Neilson - Senior - Appalachian State
7. Anneli Uys - Senior - Chattanooga
All-SoCon Second Team - Men
8. Will Raby - Sophomore - Appalachian State
9. Brandon Hudgins - Senior - Appalachian State
10. Demetrios Pagonis - Sophomore - Davidson
11. Alex Taylor - Sophomore - Appalachian State
12. Sean Soderman - Junior - Appalachian State
13. AJ Savoia - Senior - UNCG
14. Lucas Cotter - Freshman - Chattanooga
All-SoCon Second Team - Women
8. Brittney Caudle - Sophomore - Appalachian State
9. Ina Ables - Senior - Samford
10. Morgan Turner - Sophomore - Western Carolina
11. Kristen Wolfe - Junior - College of Charleston
12. Brooke Mosteller - Junior - Furman
13. Heather Conarroe - Senior - Davidson
14. Dani Reese - Senior - Appalachian State
All-SoCon Freshman Team - Men
14. Lucas Cotter - Chattanooga
21. Nick Schneider - Elon
28. Andrew Nelson - College of Charleston
34. Layton Dorsett - Samford
35. Grayam Sailor-Tynes - Davidson
37. Ben Perron - Elon
39. Kenny Hinman - UNCG
All-SoCon Freshman Team - Women
5. Dena O'Brien - College of Charleston
22. Allyson Oram - Elon
26. Destine Kirkman - Appalachian State
27. Jackie Madden - Elon
30. Danielle McKee - The Citadel
40. Catherine Burton - Furman
42. Claire Grogan - Samford
Coach of the Year - Men
Mike Curcio - Appalachian State
Coach of the Year - Women
Rod Tiffin - Samford
Runner of the Year - Men
Emmanuel Kirwa - Chattanooga
Runner of the Year - Women
Ashley Schnell - UNCG
Freshman of the Year - Men
Lucas Cotter - Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year - Women
Dena O'Brien - College of Charleston
