Team Results I Individual Results

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Kennesaw State men’s cross country team finished third at the 2012 Atlantic Sun Conference Championships after totaling  85 points and recording a team time of 2:07.42 Saturday at the Buckingham cross country course in Fort Myers.

The Owls placed three runners inside the top-seven, as Nabil Hamid, Natan Reuter and Ryan Burruss all recorded personal-best times en route to earning A-Sun First Team honors for their efforts. For the third consecutive year, Hamid finished runner-up with an 8k time of 24:43.8 to lead the squad. Reuter finished just behind with a time of 24:53.5 to place fifth, while Burruss ran a time of 25:01.5 to finish seventh.

Josh Jenkins crossed the finish line as the fourth scorer for Kennesaw State, placing 33rd with a time of 26:26.0, while Jose Santos rounded out the scoring for the Black and Gold with a 38th place finish and time of 26:37.4. Also competing for KSU was Justin Howell, who ran a personal-best time of 26:59.5 to finish 45th.

"The men came up a bit short, but never the less, Nabil Hamid ran a terrific race to repeat his second place performance," Head Coach Ryan Wagner said. "Natan (Reuter) and Ryan (Burruss) each turned in consistent performances but it just wasn't enough today. We will regroup and look to make a run in a few weeks at the Regionals."

For the second straight year, USC Upstate claimed the men’s team title with 49 points to finish ahead of East Tennessee State (53). The Spartans were guided by Gilbert Kemboi who won for the third-straight season, making him one of three men's cross country student-athletes in A-Sun history to accomplish the feat. His time of 24:16.7 registered as the fourth-fastest time in conference meet history.

Host Florida Gulf Coast finished fourth with 110 points and Mercer (126 points) rounded out the top five.

The Owls will return to action on Nov. 9 when the team travels to Tallahassee, Fla., to compete at the 2012 NCAA South Regional Championships. Keep up with Owls cross country by following KSU on Twitter at @KSUOwlNation and @KSUTrackFieldXC or by liking Kennesaw State Owls on Facebook.

Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.

Atlantic Sun All-Conference First Team
Gilbert Kemboi, USC Upstate – Runner of the Year
Nabil Hamid, Kennesaw State
Filip Jalovy, ETSU
Landon Milhorn, ETSU
Natan Reuter, Kennesaw State
JJ Webber, Northern Kentucky
Ryan Burruss, Kennesaw State

Coach of the Year:
Carson Blackwelder, USC Upstate

Atlantic Sun All-Conference Second Team
Davey Dennison, USC Upstate
Cameron Thomas, USC Upstate
Brendan Chwalek, Northern Kentucky
Jacob Law, Mercer Ross Oden, USC Upstate
Adam Chase, ETSU
Chris Rudloff, FGCU

Atlantic Sun All-Freshmen Team
Jared Wingerter, Lipscomb – Freshman of the Year
Daniel Gardner, Lipscomb
Brian Sharp, North Florida
Aaron Rojas, FGCU
Fidel Leon, Lipscomb