Morken, Hort Pace Men's Cross Country to First ASUN Title

Saturday, October 29

Spartanburg, S.C.

9:00 a.m.

University of North Florida

ASUN Championship

10/29/2016 10:56:00 AM | Men's Cross Country

By: Combined UNF Athletic Communications & ASUN Media Relations

Final Results (pdf)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Nick Morken and Brad Hort crossed the finish line at the 2016 ASUN Conference Men's Cross Country Championship in first and second as North Florida earned its first-ever conference title. Morken & Hort are the first teammates to take the top-two spots at the conference meet since 2008.

Morken becomes the second-straight Osprey to earn ASUN Runner of the Year with his first-place performance as North Florida dethroned three-time defending ASUN Champions, Lipscomb, by 39 points. The Ospreys posted a dominant performance with four runners in the top-five, which hasn't been accomplished since 1988 at the ASUN Championship as Michael Damato & Tyler Stahl joined Morken & Hort. Noah Perkins earned ASUN Freshman of the Year honors as he finished 10th.

In addition, head coach Jeff Pigg was named the ASUN Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.

North Florida will have two weeks off from competiton before returning to action at the NCAA South Regional on Nov. 11 in Tallahassee, Fla.

Notable
- UNF's final point total of 22 marked the best in program history, eclipsing last year's 45 point effort
- Morken becomes just second Osprey to earn XC Runner of the Year honor
- Perkins is the second consecutive UNF runner to claim Freshman of the Year award
- Pigg becomes first UNF mentor to garner the ASUN Coach of the Year accolade for Men's XC
- Damato ends his XC career with three All-ASUN first-team honors
- 5 Osprey runners collected 8k-XC PR times including Morken's event winning pace

Quotable...
"It has been a long journey to this point of winning an ASUN Championship. Lipscomb has been a dominant team, so this is a day that these guys will never forget. They prepared well, stayed focused and executed a great race allowing them to win together. Nick Morken knows how to win. After he broke his ankle last year training on the trails, he was hungry to be back with the team. He trained very hard this summer building his aerobic base. He truly loves the Mile, but he is a great competitor and was not going to let his team down. In his senior season, Brad Hort, ran the best race of his career. He trained alot this summer and was determined to finish his cross country career on a high note. He was strong and confident and wasn't going to be denied today. Mike Damato, another senior, was laser-focused on closing his ASUN cross country career with a team title. Mike and I have been through alot together and it was so great to see him and his boys close out with such a dominating team performance. Mike works hard and competes with passion. Tyler continues to develop into a very good cross country runner. He had a great offseason and was well prepared to help us keep a lead pack of four runners, which ultimately fueled our championship performance. Freshman of the Year performer, Noah Perkins, ran a very good race. He was patient early and did not let up when fatigue set in on him during the race. When he saw junior Manny Velasquez struggling with an injury, he dug down and ran up into a strong fifth position for the team. He led a strong contingent of freshmen including Rob Leverone and Jon Grandpierre, who rounded out our Top 7." -- Head coach Jeff Pigg

-On Coach of Year Award
"Anything of real value doesn't come without hard work and a great group of support. It was a super effort from Coach Krupa, Coach Cooke and Coach McFarlane to make this a successful cross country season." -- Pigg

UNF Finishes
1) Nick Morken - 25:00.48 PR
2) Brad Hort - 25:08.67
4) Michael Damato - 25:22.96
5) Tyler Stahl - 25:31.36 PR
10) Noah Perkins - 25:37.04 PR
16) Jon Grandpierre - 25:49.71 PR
21) Rob Leverone - 26:10.43 PR
38) Fynn Timm - 27:15.44
49) Manny Velasquez - 28:21.31

Team Scores
1) North Florida - 22
2) Lipscomb - 61
3) FGCU - 68
4) USC Upstate - 114
5) Kennesaw State - 141
6) Stetson - 172
7) NJIT - 179
8) Jacksonville - 217

ASUN First Team All-Conference
Nick Morken, North Florida - ASUN Runner of the Year
Brad Hort, North Florida
Luka Ndungu, FGCU
Michael Damato, North Florida
Tyler Stahl, North Florida
Sam Remington, Lipscomb
Ronny Greenup, FGCU

ASUN Second Team All-Conference
Dorian Jones, USC Upstate
Joseph Beery, Stetson
Noah Perkins, North Florida
Kyle Johnson, Lipscomb
William Kachman, Lipscomb
Carlin Berryhill, FGCU
Theodore Kountourogiannis, USC Upstate

ASUN Conference All-Freshman Team
Noah Perkins, North Florida - ASUN Freshman of the Year
Kyle Johnson, Lipscomb
William Kachman, Lipscomb
Carlin Berryhill, FGCU
Brent Leber, Lipscomb