LEXINGTON, Va. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's cross country team finished fifth out of 10 teams at the 2021 Southern Conference (SoCon) Championships Saturday at Lexington Country Club Golf Course, hosted by VMI.
 
UNCG totaled 136 points, taking home fifth overall. Furman University won its ninth-straight title with 15 points. East Tennessee State University followed with 64 points in the runner-up position, while Mercer University (122 points) and Samford University (128 points) rounded out the top four teams, placing third and fourth, respectively.
 
At the two-kilometer split, UNCG was third overall with five Spartans in the top 25. Samford University and Mercer University jumped ahead at the five-kilometer split, bumping UNCG to fifth for the remainder of the race.
 
Junior Michael Zapherson crossed the finish line first for the Spartans, finishing in 26:23.7, good for 18^th overall. Senior Dylan Christopher was the next Blue & Gold across the finish line with his time of 26:56.7, good for 26^th.
 
Senior Joe Thoma rounded out the Spartans' top-30 finishes running the eight-kilometer course in 27:06.8, placing 30^th for his best finish at the Championships. Classmates Thomas Knepshield and Nicholas Thoma rounded out the top five for UNCG. Knepshield clocked in a time of 27:22.1, good for 35^th, while Thoma placed 39^th with a time of 27:33.1 for his best finish at the Championships.

UP NEXT
The Spartans are scheduled to compete at the NCAA Southeast Regionals on Friday, November 12 in Louisville, Kentucky at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, hosted by the University of Kentucky.