Cross Country | 11/2/2019 8:45:00 PM

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C.  An all-conference quartet led Methodist's men's and women's cross country squads at Saturday's USA South Athletic Conference Championship Meet where the Monarch men finished fourth in the team chase and the women were sixth.

Makayla Lawler earned first-team all-conference honors with her third-place finishing time of 23 minutes, 30.09 seconds on the six-kilometer course at North Carolina Wesleyan College.

Racing to second-team honors was Courtney Drumm, who placed 10th with a time of 24:21.64.

On the men's side of the ledger, Andrew Topoly picked up third-team all-conference honors, finishing 19th with a time of 27:05.29 on the eight-kilometer course, while Connor Ayers (27:13.97) ran to an honorable mention all-conference spot with his 24th-place finish.

JUST THE FACTS
Event: 2019 USA South Cross Country Championship Meet
Location: N.C. Wesleyan Cross Country Course; Rocky Mount, N.C.
Top 3 teams, men: 1 – Berea College (15 points), 2 – Covenant College (70 pts.), 3 – Piedmont College (70 pts.)
Top 3 individuals, men: 1 – Logan McKenzie, Berea (25:27.35), 2 – Luke Wilson, Berea (25:40.08), 3 – Sair Salgado, Berea (25:42.78)
Top 3 teams, women: 1 – Berea (41 pts.), 2 – Covenant (86 pts.), 3 – Piedmont (92 pts.)
Top 3 individuals, women: 1 – Jamie Welch, Berea (23:02.32), 2 – Lea Mulligan, Maryville (23:12.97), 3 – Makayla Lawler, Methodist (23:30.09)

MONARCH NOTES

• Following Topoly and Ayers across the finish line were Jonathan Wertz (31st; 27:32.32), Cameron Adair (32nd; 27:42.39) and Endashaw Tonja (34th; 27:52.29).
• The spread between the Monarchs' scoring five was just 47 seconds, a season best for the men's program.
• Lawler and Drumm were ahead of the other three scoring runners for the women's team, but Olivia Mague (39th; 27:21.81) and Lemlem Gebremichele (42nd; 27:28.89) were well within earshot of each other.
• Ally Mattera (28:30.26) locked down the final scoring position for the Monarch women with a 57th-place finish.
• In addition to the all-conference runners from Methodist, Wertz and Gebremichele were named to their respective USA South All-Sportsmanship Teams.

UP NEXT
The Methodist men and women will head to Memphis, Tennessee, for the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Regional Championship on November 16.