CHARLESTON, S.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's cross country team competed in the 2022 Southern Conference (SoCon) Championship where it placed fourth out of the 10 teams that participated at the Johns Island County Park on Sunday.
 
Graduate student Joe Thoma led the Spartans with his top-five finish and a career-best time of 24:14.4 in the eight-kilometer race. Thoma earned his first cross country All-SoCon recognition, earning first team honors with his third-place finish after moving up four spots after the five-kilometer mark. Thoma's time was less than a one minute from first-place Dylan Schubert of Furman who clocked in the top time of 23:41.5.

Furman took home first place for the 10^th time with 27 points total. East Tennessee State walked away with second totaling 55 points, and Mercer rounded out the top three with 100 points.
 
Three Spartans finished in the top 20 and took fourth overall with a total of 101 points, just missing out on third place.

Dylan Christopher maintained eighth place throughout the race, clocking in a career-best time of 24:31.4.

Ethan Long was the next Spartan to cross the finish line clocking in at 25:10.8, a time which put him in 16^th place overall. Long moved up six places following his three-kilometer check in and then seven more places crossing the line. Evan Pena came in seconds behind his teammate, taking 35^th place with a time of 25.55.0 in his SoCon Championship.
 
Freshman Luke Ward took 42^nd in his first SoCon Championship with a time of 26:13.4, followed by classmate Jack Burgener who placed 59^th. Freshman Zachary Taylor finished 67^th, and sophomore Mason Rudel took home 77^th.

UP NEXT:
The Spartans continue their season in Blacksburg, Virginia for the Hokie Open which will take place on Friday, November 4^th, hosted by Virginia Tech.