NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont men extended its stranglehold on the cross country crown, winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship for the sixth consecutive season, fending off an early challenge from ETSU. The Bruins’ Kipkosgei Magut successfully defended his individual title, winning the 8K race in 25:10 at Vaughn’s Creeks Cross Country Course. 1,000 spectators came out for the morning race and lined the course throughout.

With the team win, the Bruins broke a tie with Texas-San Antonio for most consecutive team titles. The Roadrunners won five consecutive team titles from 1986-1990.

“I had heard that six would be unprecedented in the conference so obviously that was a goal,” Belmont head coach Jeff Langdon said. “We did talk to the guys early in the season and I told them lets win conference because it would be unprecedented.”

Magut, a junior, from Kitale, Kenya, became the sixth in Atlantic Sun Conference history to successfully defend his individual title. Belmont’s William Kemey last won back-to-back titles, winning in 2001-02. Magut’s win marked the fourth consecutive year a Belmont runner won the individual race and the sixth time in seven years the top runner hailed from Belmont.

“The race started very fast; the guys from ETSU took it out very fast,” Magut said. “I was trying to take it easy the first 4K and by the 3-mile mark I was feeling good and my body was fully warmed up.”

Belmont also featured the top two freshmen. Hillary Cheruiyot’s sixth-place finish, in a time of 25:35, earned him the Freshman of the Year honor with Will Peters grabbing 12th.

“It was a great experience, running with the top guys in the Atlantic Sun,” Cheruiyot said. “Kipkosgei was a great benefit for me.”

ETSU finished second, 16 points behind Belmont after placing three among the top seven finishers. Jeff Crane finished as the meet runner-up comi ng in with a time of 25:16. Campbell captured third position; Verrelle Wyatt paced the Camels with a fifth-place finish. Kennesaw State took fourth with sophomore Peikko Solla finishing ninth. Gardner-Webb, led by Lucas McAneney’s 10th place finish, wound up in fifth. McAneney earned his third All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection. Host Lipscomb rounded out the top half of the team finishers.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.