Nov. 2, 2002

TROY, Ala. - Samford's men's and women's cross-country teams raced to a pair of second-place finishes at the Atlantic Sun Conference Meet in Troy, Ala., Saturday. Freshman Michelle Brewer and senior Brett Baddorf each made the All-Conference team, finishing eighth and sixth respectively.

"I am really proud of both of our teams," said coach Glenn McWaters. "Credit goes to Belmont because they ran really well. We did not finish as high as we would have liked, but the guys and girls gave it their all out there today."

Belmont won the women's race with 37 points. Samford finished second with 81 points. UCF was third with 118 points, Georgia State was fourth with 137 points and Gardner-Webb was fifth with 147 points.

Michelle Brewer finished eighth with a time of 19:11.40. Freshman Jessica Brewer was 11th with a time of 19:29.86. Sophomore Lauren Floyd finished 18th, turning in a time of 19:52.52. Junior Brittney Mensen ran the course in 19:58.02, good for a 20th-place finish. Freshman Connie Heiskell was 24th with a time of 20:01.87. Freshman Jessica Jansen was 29th, running the course in 20:08.94. Senior Erin Giesa ran a 20:11.43, good for 31st. Junior Jackie Sharpe was 45th with a time of 20:56.53.

"Michelle Brewer made All-Conference and Jessica was one spot away," said McWaters. "That certainly bodes well for our future."

Gardner-Webb junior Sylvia Chelimo was the individual champion, setting a course record with a time of 18:25.15.

For the men, Belmont won with 23 points. The Bulldogs were second with 67 points. Georgia State finished third with 77 points. Troy State was fourth with 81 points, and Central Florida finished fifth with 161 points.

Chad Johnson (left) and Brett Baddorf at the A-Sun Championship

Brett Baddorf led the Bulldogs, finishing sixth with a time of 26:17.32. For Baddorf, this makes the fourth time he has been All-Conference.

"It is and honor and is pretty neat because I realized how much I love running my first year that I sat out with an injury," said Baddorf, a fifth-year senior. "If our team had done better today that would make it a lot more enjoyable."

Junior Chad Johnson just missed All-Conference honors, finishing 11th in a time of 26:33.44. Freshman Andrew Middleton was 15th, running a 27:01.25. Sophomore Bryan Baddorf ran a solid race, finishing 16th in 27:01.60. Freshman Scott Maurer was 19th with a time of 27:08.63. Sophomore Rickey McLain finished 20th with a time of 27:14.44. Mark Rowe, a sophomore, was 25th, running a 27:29.72. Freshman Brad Polley finished 35th with a time of 28:31.73.

"This group is very special," McWaters said. "I cannot say how much Brett Baddorf means to this program, and we will miss him. But next year we have a chance to be very strong with Mark McBride returning from injury and other runners coming into the program for the first time."

The Bulldogs season is not over yet. The top seven runners for the men and women will race in the NCAA South Regional on Nov. 16 in Knoxville, Tenn.