GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum's David Cooper garnered All-Conference first team honors, while Maggie Bernabei earned a spot on the SAC All-Freshman Team at the 2012 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships, hosted by the Pioneers Saturday morning on the Greeneville campus.

The Tusculum men finished seventh, while the TC women placed ninth in the team competition.

Cooper posted his fifth straight top-four finish of the season as he finished the 8,000-meter course in a time of 27:11.3, his second fastest 8K time of his career and 15th-best in Tusculum history. It was also the sixth fastest time posted by a TC runner at a SAC Championship.

Lawson Burrow finished 25th with a time of 28:21.9, which was the sixth fastest time amongst the league rookies and one spot away from making it onto the SAC All-Freshman Team. Zachary Simpson was 53rd as he finished in 29:50.8, while Kekona Soon was 59th with 30:13.9. Elijah Minter placed 77th with his time of 33:17.4, while George Blalock posted a time of 35:35.5 to finish 79th.

Mars Hill won the men's championship for a 16th consecutive year as the Lions finished with 27 points, 70 points ahead of Wingate (97) for the second-largest victory margin in the 20-year history of the championship (79 is the record by Mars Hill in the 1998 SAC Championship). Lenoir-Rhyne finished third in the men's championship with 102 points, followed by Lincoln Memorial (115), Brevard (139), Anderson (141), Tusculum (191), Newberry (194), Catawba (197) and Carson-Newman (253).

Bernabei finished 31st with a time of 5,000-meter time of 22:01.0 and earned the fifth and final spot on the SAC All-Freshman Team, becoming the third runner in program history to garner this accolade.

Freshman Paige Bible finished 35th at 22:09.6, while 2012 SAC Scholar Athlete Jenny Grant finished in 22:29.6 for 43rd place, her best SAC Championship finish in her three conference meets.

Ashley Gregg finished 61st with 24:08.3, followed by Allison Hall (63rd - 24:18.3), Kim Brown (67th - 24:36.0), Lakesa Hendrix (70th - 25:09.6) and Carol Hogan (77th - 26:10.7) to round out the Tusculum scoring.

Lenoir-Rhyne captured their third league women's title in the last five years as the Bears edged out Wingate. Anderson finished third with 80 points, followed by Mars Hill (98), Lincoln Memorial (100), Brevard (168), Carson-Newman (178), Catawba (208), Tusculum (219) and Newberry 242).

This marked the fifth time the SAC Championship has been held in Greeneville, but the first-ever held on the historic Tusculum campus.

Next up is the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship, which will be held in Charlotte, N.C. in two weeks (Nov. 3).

- SAC -

SAC Men's Team Results
Pl. Team Pts.
1 Mars Hill 27
2 Wingate 97
3 Lenoir-Rhyne 102
4 Lincoln Memorial 115
5 Brevard 139
6 Anderson 141
7 TUSCULUM 191
8 Newberry 194
9 Catawba 197
10 Carson-Newman 253

Tusculum Individual Results
Pl Runner Time
4 David Cooper 27:11.3
25 Lawson Burrow 28:21.9
53 Zachary Simpson 29:50.8
59 Kekona Soon 30:13.9
77 Elijah Minter 33:17.4
79 George Blalock 35:35.5

SAC Women's Team Results
Pl Team Pts.
1 Lenoir-Rhyne 68
2 Wingate 73
3 Anderson 80
4 Mars Hill 98
5 Lincoln Memorial 100
6 Brevard 168
7 Carson-Newman 178
8 Catawba 208
9 TUSCULUM 219
10 Newberry 242

Tusculum Individual Results
Pl Runner Time
31 Maggie Bernabei 22:01.0
35 Paige Bible 22:09.6
43 Jenny Grant 22:29.6
61 Ashley Gregg 24:08.3
63 Allison Hall 24:18.3
67 Kim Brown 24:36.0
70 Lakesa Hendrix 25:09.6
77 Carol Hogan 26:10.7