Men's Cross Country Earns Ninth Place at the NCAA South Regional

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Belmont men's cross country team wrapped up their season with a ninth place finish at the NCAA South Regional meet held Friday morning at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Florida. 

The Bruins placed three runners among the top 50 to finish ninth with 256 total points. Tennessee won the team title with 68 points. Florida State placed second with 71, while Alabama was third at 86. 

Carter Cheeseman led Belmont in 38th with a time of 30:08, just three seconds shy of the 10K program record set in 1999 by William Kemey at the NCAA South Regional.

Zac Shaffer earned 44th, topping his personal best set at regionals last season in 30:28.4.

Nick Mota claimed 49th in 30:32.

Kevin Vanderkolk surpassed his personal best set at regionals last season in 30:42.2, securing 55th.

Jack Zettl also notched a new personal best in 31:12.7, earning 74th.

Joel Wolf finished 80th in 31:24.3.

Ethan Hammer rounded out the South Regional for the Bruins in 83rd with a time of 31:26.4

Hillary Cheruiyot of Alabama won the individual title with time of 28:26.8.

The ninth-place finish is the Bruins' best result at the regional championship since 2019 when Belmont also placed ninth.

This meet wraps up the cross country season for the men's cross country team. The Bruins finished among the top 10 in all of their meets, including a trio of runner-up finishes at the Belmont Opener, John McNichols Invitational and the Crimson Classic.

Follow Belmont men's cross country on social media - @BelmontXCTF on Twitter, @belmontmxc on Instagram and @BUXCTF on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.