KENNESAW, Ga.-  Third time is a charm for Mackenzie Howe who crossed the finish line first at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon at Millikin Research Park in Spartanburg, S.C.. Howe ran the 5k course in 17:22.18, just narrowly beating out Shelby Kittrell from North Florida by 1.4 seconds. Overall, the team placed ninth in the conference with the title going to North Florida.

During the final stretch of the race, Howe and Kittrell were neck and neck until Howe started her kick and began to pull away from the runner up. Jacksonville’s Joan Pierre would round out the top three with a time of 17:51.91. Howe’s first place finish today earned her a fourth straight All-Conference award which ties former teammate and assistant coach Erin Sutton for the only ones in program history to achieve that prestigious accolade.

Knowing that Howe will go down as one of the great female cross country runners in Kennesaw State history, head cross country coach Stan Sims couldn’t be prouder of how hard she worked to win.

“Mackenzie followed the plan,” Sims said. “We told her to punish them early and that’s exactly what she did. She ran hard the first part of the race. The people we thought would be up with her during the race were. What a great way to finish her cross country career especially having two seconds places then to finish in first her senior year. It’s the best race I have ever seen her run. She was not going to be denied the win. She ran her race according to plan and was able to outgun the girl at the end.”

Adding only to her already illustrious Kennesaw State career, Howe can now add conference champion to her resume. Her freshman year she was named to the All-Conference and All-Freshmen team after an 8th place finish at the A-Sun championship. She continued to creep onto the radar through her sophomore season but exploded in 2009 to six straight first place finishes and five Atlantic Sun Runner of the Week awards.

For Howe the feeling of finally crossing the finish line first has been too long in the making.

“I have been here for four years and I keep coming in second,” Howe said. “Any time I would get discouraged or tired, I would just think about what it was like coming in second. It is my senior year and I just knew how badly I wanted the title. That was the biggest motivator overall for me.”

Coming in behind Howe for Kennesaw State was freshmen Heather Morris. Returning for her first race since suffering an injury a month earlier, Morris came in 40th with a time of 19:08. Next was freshmen Alison Wald who was 55th followed closely by Stephanie Sawyer in 67th. Rounding out the top five was Haley Carson in 68th who set a personal 5k record with a time of 20:22.

“Heather ran a good race and will go to Regionals with Mackenzie,” Sims said. “The other girls ran a good strong race and we will just try to get them to another level for next season. For Heather, Alison, Stephanie and Haley it was a learning experience for them to race cross country at the collegiate level. They now know what the commitment level is like and will use it as a stepping stone.”


Team Results

   1. North Florida- 55 points         

   2. Lipscomb- 73 points
                                                        
   3. Jacksonville- 96 points
     
   4. Upstate- 108 points  

   5. Belmont - 110 points                
     
   6. Florida Gulf Coast- 158 points   
     
   7. Mercer- 172 points
     
   8. Campbell- 174  points 
     
   9. Kennesaw State- 217 points

  10. East Tenn. St.-261 points
     
  11. Stetson- 314 points         
     

Individual Results

1. Mackenzie Howe- 17:22.78

40. Heather Morris- 19:08.75

55. Alison Wald- 19:40.34

67. Stephanie Sawyer- 20:19.18

68. Haley Carson- 20:22.72

Atlantic Sun All-Conference First Team- Mackenzie Howe
Atlantic Sun Runner of the Year- Mackenzie Howe
 
For a glimpse at the women's race and Howe's push to the finish, click here