Freshman Brad Yewer and junior Rosaline Addo took home All-Southern Conference honors last weekend at the Southern Conference Cross Country Championships hosted by The Citadel at James Island County Park on Saturday.
Yewer completed the eight-kilometer course in a season-best time of 24 minutes and 54 seconds to finish in second place overall, leading the Bucs to a sixth place finish with a score of 144 points as all five runners on the men’s team ran seasonal or personal best times.
“I’m pleased with my race,” said Yewer, the Newbury native. “I gave every thing I had.
“I’m a little frustrated not being able to win, but I was beaten by a better guy on that day.”
Appalachian State won the team title with 39 points, as Western Carolina’s Jesse Norman was the individual champion (24:48).
Yewer was also named the conference’s Freshman of the Year for his runner-up performance.
Following Yewer was the Bucs’ No. 2 runner, senior Greg Sprowl, who missed all-conference honors by just over three seconds with his 11th-place finish.
“It was a real personal blow to come so close at the conference meet and not make the (all-conference) team,” Sprowl said.
“It was a tough way to end my conference career, but I’ll be a man on a mission in Alabama (for the district meet).”
Sprowl, who finished seventh at last year’s championships, covered the 8K course in 25:15, shaving 30 seconds off his personal best time set earlier in the season at the Winthrop Invitational.
Also recording a personal and seasonal best time over the course was sophomore David Haefner, who finished in 22nd place with a time of 25:48.
Rounding out the Bucs’ team scoring were freshman Lawrence Lockhart, who cut over two minutes off his previous best time, finishing in 50th place at 27:16, and senior Mike Farkas who finished in 69th place at 28:11.
In the women’s championship, Addo finished in fourth place with a time of 18:22, recording a seasonal best time.
“For her, being a track athlete, to finish fourth is a great accomplishment,” said women’s head coach Matt High. “She was a little dissappointed, she wanted to win.”
Addo, who was ETSU’s 2000-2001 Female Athlete of the Year and is a four-time conference 400-meter dash champion, improved 10 places from last year’s race, in which she finished 14th, and led the Lady Bucs to a seventh place finish overall with 166 points.
“Most everyone ran a 30 second or more P.R. (personal record),” High said. “Lauren Campbell ran a great race and I’m very proud of the sprinters that ran cross country this year.”
The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga won the women’s team title with 28 points as Chattanooga’s Gina Recher won the individual title (17:54).
Behind Addo was the Lady Bucs’ No. 2 runner, Emily Chaney. The sophomore finished in 15th place (18:50).
Senior Lauren Campbell was ETSU’s No. 3 runner in a season best time of 19:27 for 40th place with freshman Jennifer Habbestad finishing as the Lady Bucs’ No. 4 runner in 54th place with her time of 19:54.
ETSU’s team scoring was rounded out by Kim Simmons in 62nd place with a time of 20:13.
Freshman Carla Akers and senior Jennifer Howard also ran strong for the Lady Bucs finishing in 70th and 74th place respectively with times of 21:04 and 21:19.
Both teams will next compete in the District 9 Cross Country Championships held in Birmingham, Ala., on Nov. 10.

Author