ASUN Women's Recap | ASUN Men's Recap | Women's Final Results | Men's Final Results

Spartanburg, S.C.- The Kennesaw State women's and men's cross country teams competed at the ASUN Conference Championships at the Milliken Research Park on the campus of South Carolina Upstate on Saturday,October 29.

The women's team was led for the 13th straight race by senior Kidan Kidane who finished in second with a time of 17:07.72. Which was the second-fastest time in school 5K history and the fourth fastest in ASUN Championship meet history. It was also the fastest time by any Owl at the ASUN Championships and earned her ASUN First Team All-Conference honors. 

"Kidan was so ready for this race," head coach David Poteet said. "I could see it in her workouts, body language, and on her face. She ran the fourth fastest time in ASUN history and third fastest time on that course. She is incredible, and now we will work on her finish. She will go down as one of the greatest Owl distance runners ever." 

Also in the women's 5K race, Freshman Lexi Froh would cross the finish line 20th in 18:40.19 collecting ASUN All-Freshman team honors. Sophomore Caitlyn Farrell would be next to finish in 23rd with a time of 18:45.19. Freshman Bonnie Mckinnon (19:13.70) and Saidah Grant(19:15.09) finished 31st and 33rd to round out the scoring for the Owls. Freshman Kaitlyn Franklin (19:31.81), freshman Nicole Zaubi (20:07.96) and Paulette Jueing (20:28.29)  grabbed 35th, 37th, and 44th places respectively. The Owls grabbed a fourth-place finish as a team which was their best finish at the ASUN Championships since 2014. 

"The women were picked to finish 6th in the ASUN by a preseason coach's poll," Poteet said. "My goal was always fourth or better. We finished fourth not because the other teams got worse, but because we improved. So proud of them dropping times all season. They were focused, tuned and ready for this race. Lexi Froh made the All-Freshman Team and Caitlyn Farrell dropped her time well into the 18s. Saidah Grant has come on very well, as well as Bonnie McKinnon. This was a total team effort and a sign of things to come."

For the fifth consecutive meet, the men's team was led by junior transfer Paul Schupp in their 8K race. Schupp finished 19th in 26:00.71, which was his season best time by 14 seconds.  Freshmen Max Warner (26:53.12)and Will Hasse (26:54.70) both ran their fastest times to finish 29th and 31st respectively. Junior Jordan Hand was the next Owl to cross the line in 26:58.13 to finish 33rd. Derrick Kinyanjui rounded out the scoring for the Owls with a time of 27:15.45 to finish 37th. The men grabbed a fifth-place finish overall.

"The men ran much better as a team. Happy to see them respond with better times for conference. Paul just issued going under 26:00 and most everyone brought their times down into the 26s. Proud of them, and the additions to next year's team will make use more competitive in the conference," Poteet stated.

 The Owls will head to Tallahassee, Fla. to compete in the NCAA South Regionals on Friday, November 11, at the Apalachee Regional Park. The women's 6k begins at 8:30 a.m. (ET) while the men's 10K starts at 9:30 a.m.(ET).

ASUN First Team All-Conference
Eden Meyer, North Florida - ASUN Runner of the Year
Kidan Kidane, Kennesaw State
Nora McUmber, Jacksonville
Sally Larson, Lipscomb
Courtney Brenner, Lipscomb
Caitlin Marino, Jacksonville
Bridgette Doucet, Lipscomb

ASUN Second Team All-Conference
Kacey Kemper, Lipscomb
Avery Franklin, Lipscomb
Katy Solis, Jacksonville
Barbara Lee Ball, Lipscomb
Grace Meyer, North Florida
Hannah Owens, Lipscomb
Anna Karaseva, Jacksonville

ASUN Conference All-Freshman Team
Courtney Brenner, Lipscomb - ASUN Freshman of the Year
Brittany Lang, North Florida
Emma Grantges, North Florida
Mary Jeann Assinzo, Jacksonville
Lexi Froh, Kennesaw State 

ASUN First Team All-Conference
Nick Morken, North Florida - ASUN Runner of the Year
Brad Hort, North Florida
Luka Ndungu, FGCU
Michael Damato, North Florida
Tyler Stahl, North Florida
Sam Remington, Lipscomb
Ronny Greenup, FGCU

ASUN Second Team All-Conference
Dorian Jones, USC Upstate
Joseph Beery, Stetson
Noah Perkins, North Florida
Kyle Johnson, Lipscomb
William Kachman, Lipscomb
Carlin Berryhill, FGCU
Theodore Kountourogiannis, USC Upstate

ASUN Conference All-Freshman Team
Noah Perkins, North Florida - ASUN Freshman of the Year
Kyle Johnson, Lipscomb
William Kachman, Lipscomb
Carlin Berryhill, FGCU
Brent Leber, Lipscomb

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State cross country news, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlTrackFieldXC or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.