Friday, November 1
Wichita, Kan.
East Carolina University
vs
American Athletic Conference Championships
Alex Sawyer and Henry Lyon (fourth and second from left) Earned All-Conference Medals
Saywer and Lyon Earn American Cross Country All-Conference Honors
November 01, 2024 | Cross Country
WICHITA, Kan. – East Carolina cross country's Alex Sawyer and J Henry Lyon collected All-Conference honors at the 2024 American Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Wichita State on Friday evening. The duo led the Pirate men to a seventh-place team finish while the women took eighth overall.
It was the women who toed the line first on Friday for their 6K race and Pirate true freshman Erin Pope made the most of her conference debut, nearly snagging an All-Conference finish in 19th overall with her teammate Kaylee McCullough right behind in 20th with times of 21:47.5 and 21:50.3, respectively. Hayley Whoolery (32nd), Navaya Zales (61st) and Lily Schlossberg (75th) rounded out the scoring lineup for the Pirates.
Then it was the men's turn for their 8K race and it was a brilliant race tactically for Sawyer and Lyon who, after starting in 43rd and 44th respectively through two kilometers, went on to pass 31 and 30 runners apiece to stake their claim to All-Conference medals with times of 24:39.0 and 24:44.8. Nick Willer (57th), Judah Lacroix (60th) and Elliott Kleckner (71st) rounded out the scoring lineup for the men.
Sawyer and Lyon's All-Conference efforts are the Pirates first overall since Abby Yourkavitch finished 13th for the women in 2021 and the first on the men's side since Josh Spare finished 13th in 2019. 12th place for Sawyer is the highest finish since Lindsay Yentz took eighth in the 2020-21 championship held in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the highest for a men's runner since Bakri Abushouk took fourth in 2017.
Up Next
The NCAA Southeast Regional Championship will be held on Friday, Nov. 15 in Rock Hill, S.C.
It was the women who toed the line first on Friday for their 6K race and Pirate true freshman Erin Pope made the most of her conference debut, nearly snagging an All-Conference finish in 19th overall with her teammate Kaylee McCullough right behind in 20th with times of 21:47.5 and 21:50.3, respectively. Hayley Whoolery (32nd), Navaya Zales (61st) and Lily Schlossberg (75th) rounded out the scoring lineup for the Pirates.
Then it was the men's turn for their 8K race and it was a brilliant race tactically for Sawyer and Lyon who, after starting in 43rd and 44th respectively through two kilometers, went on to pass 31 and 30 runners apiece to stake their claim to All-Conference medals with times of 24:39.0 and 24:44.8. Nick Willer (57th), Judah Lacroix (60th) and Elliott Kleckner (71st) rounded out the scoring lineup for the men.
Sawyer and Lyon's All-Conference efforts are the Pirates first overall since Abby Yourkavitch finished 13th for the women in 2021 and the first on the men's side since Josh Spare finished 13th in 2019. 12th place for Sawyer is the highest finish since Lindsay Yentz took eighth in the 2020-21 championship held in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the highest for a men's runner since Bakri Abushouk took fourth in 2017.
Up Next
The NCAA Southeast Regional Championship will be held on Friday, Nov. 15 in Rock Hill, S.C.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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