Spalding's 1-2 Punch Secures SLIAC Title; Deng Takes Home Second Consecutive Crown
HILLSBORO, Ill. - Spalding University's men's cross country team captured their first ever St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Championship, as Spalding senior Abram Deng ran to his second consecutive individual title.
Deng and teammate Haile Jemane provided a one-two punch for the Golden Eagles, as they edged out defending champion Principa College by only eight points in the team scoring. Spalding had three runners in the top 10 and finished with a team total of 43 points. Principia had three runners in the top five, but compiled a total of 51 points to place second.
Deng blew away the entire pack, finishing 29 seconds ahead of Jemane in second place. Deng's final time on the 8K course was 25:31.4, as he captured Runner of the Year honors for the second consecutive year and earned First Team All-SLIAC. Jemane, a junior, recorded a time of 26:00.70 to also earn First Team All-SLIAC honors.
Spalding senior Alec Zaremba rounded out the First Team All-SLIAC and placed seventh overall with a time of 26:29.4. The Golden Eagles also had a strong performances from freshman Allen Matthews and senior Eric Yepez. Matthews ran a time of 27:01.7 and placed 13th, while earning Second Team All-SLIAC. Yepez finished in 20th place with a time of 27:25.9.
Principia's junior trio consisting of Derrick Fleming (26:14.0), Wylie Mangelsdorf (26:20.5) and Adam Rolph (26:23.6) finished in third, fourth and fifth place respectively. All three earned First Team All-SLIAC honors. Fellow junior Kynan Witters-Hicks was a Second Team All-SLIAC recipient after placing 14th overall with a time of 27:06.5.
Greenville College's Nathan Young (Sr.) was the top runner for the Panthers and posted a time of 26:26.0 for a sixth place finish. Young also received First Team All-SLIAC honors. Greenville freshman Ross Baker finished in 10th place with a time of 26:42.2 and was named Second Team All-SLIAC.
Also receiving Second Team All-SLIAC were Westminster College's Matt Borst and Daniel Lindaman and Webster University's Ethan Jeffries and Jason Hickson. Borst and Lindaman placed eighth and 12th respectively with times of 26:33.8 and 26:58.7. Jeffries and Hickson finished ninth and 11th respectively with times of 26:35.2 and 26:52.4. Jeffries was also named the 2012 SLIAC Newcomer of the Year.
Recognized at the conclusion of the event were the 2012 SLIAC Coach of the Year, Sportsmanship Award and All-Sportsmanship Team. Spalding University head coach Kevin Alessandro was named Coach of the Year for the first time. He guided his team to their first ever team championship and had his second SLIAC Runner of the Year.
Principia College received the team Sportsmanship Award for the second consecutive year and fifth time overall. The following individuals were also named to the 2012 SLIAC Men's Cross Country All-Sportsmanship Team: Paul Kline (Blackburn),Timothy Cowell (Eureka), Justin Horneker (Fontbonne), Tony Briscoe (Greenville), Derrick Fleming (Principia), Allen Matthews (Spalding), Dan Henkey (Webster) and Will Megl (Westminster).
