Bryan finishes second at Region XII Championship
November 06, 2006Louisville, KY - Bryan College finished second at the NAIA Region XII Championships to two-time defending national champions Virginia Intermont on Saturday at "EP" Tom Sawyer Park.
Bryan was led by sophomore Daniel Goetz (Chattanooga, TN), who finished ninth overall in a time of 25:46 for the 8,000-meter event and qualified for the NAIA Championship race. Intermont took the team title with a perfect score of fifteen points, led by individual champion David Cheromei in 23:45.
Freshmen runners Zach Buffington (Ooltewah, TN) and Josh Bradley (Ringgold, GA) finished 17th and 18th with times of 27:12 and 27:14. Rounding out the scoring for the Lions were sophomore Guillermo Loaiza (Cartago, Costa Rica) and junior Steven Chambers (Fayetteville, GA) with finishes of 27:51 and 27:59 for 26th and 27th places overall.
Goetz was named to the All-Region XII team, as well as an All-Conference performer in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Buffington, Bradley and Caleb Morgan were named to the AAC All-Freshmen team.
"Our men ran well, and it feels good to be second in the region and conference, after our second season at Bryan," said head coach Rodney Stoker. "Goetz had a solid day and secured a spot at the national championships in two weeks. Buffington and Bradley were the 6th and 7th individuals, which was a place away from joining Goetz. Guillermo ran fantastic, but probably the race of the day went to Steven Chambers. I was excited for Steven to have such a huge day; he deserves everything he gets."
Intermont gained their automatic spot in the NAIA National Championship race. Fourteen to 15 at-large birth are given to teams across the nation in the fourteen regions that are decided on by the NAIA raters.
"I'm not sure we'll receive an at-large, but I feel we are are taking steps in the right direction for our program. I'm happy with how are kids competed and we should be at another level this time next year to set us up for a run in the championships. Our young guys are improving and with the experience they are gaining I can see them doing great things down the road," stated Stoker.
The at-large selections will take place on November 7th. The NAIA National Championship race will take place in Louisville, KY on November 18th.