Wilbourn Kosgei led a handful of Montreat runners to the awards stand this Saturday at the 2008 AAC Cross Country Championships.

By virtue of breaking the tape in first place with a stellar time of 25:55.6, Kosgei was named the 2008 AAC Male Runner of the Year.  He also earned the right to represent Montreat College at the 2008 NAIA National Cross Country Championships on November 22nd in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Kosgei's honor was one of many the Cavaliers brought home to Montreat.

The business administration major had this to say about his award, "I'm very happy about receiving this honor.  But I am more happy knowing that the team ran very well today.  I'm thankful for my teammates and how they worked so hard this year.  I wish they were all going to nationals with me and Ben."

Other cross country honors went to Ben Hall (Fr./ Columbus, NC) for his 8th place finish in 27:00.7 for the winding 8km race.  Hall earned the fourth out of five individual spots for the right to also compete at the national championships.

Both Kosgei and Hall were named to the All-AAC Cross Country Team.

On the women's side, Talisa Bishop will once again represent Montreat College at this year's NAIA National Cross Country Championships.  Her 7th place finishing time of 19:11.7 (5km) earned Bishop her fourth career national cross country championship appearance.  She also led two stellar freshman in Lindsay Mizok (19:22.6/ 9th) and Elisabeth Elliott (19:44.6/ 12th) to their roundtrip tickets to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

"The girls ran with a lot of heart in Saturday's race," said Talisa Bishop.  "We had high hopes heading into the meet. Although we didn't win, no one feels like we lost. Pretty much everyone ran personal bests and you can't ask for much more in terms of effort. With the majority of the team coming back next year, they've set themselves up for more success than we had this year.  Being a four-time national qualifier is such a blessing. To say I have participated four times is such an awesome thing. It's been amazing to be a part of it every year... I take pride in qualifying and doing the best that I can. I am looking forward to the race in a couple of weeks and will be sad when it is over. I'm so proud to be representing Montreat again, especially with some of my teammates."

Bishop and Mizok were named to the 2008 All-AAC Cross Country Team.  Although the Lady Cavs team did not receive an at-large birth for the championships, they still managed to bring home the AAC Runner-Up trophy.  Further, this was the first year the Lady Cavs broke into the national rankings.  They entered the AAC championship race as the NAIA's 30th ranked team.  Mizok and Elliott were also named to the All-AAC Freshman Team.

The men's and women's Cavalier track team was also honored with their AAC Champions of Character Award for the 2007 track season.  Last year's team was honored for their work in the community and their commitment to demonstrating the NAIA's Five Core Values of a Champion of Character... respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship, and servant leadership.

"It's a great time for our cross country and track programs," praised Coach Larios. "These honors and awards are an indication that our team is diligent and we're keeping our priorities straight.  Our team sets out to honor Jesus Christ and I'm very inspired by our athletes' hearts.  We're very blessed to have the opportunity to represent Montreat College at this level and we'll continue to do so as well as we can.  We want to give our conference teams a lot of credit for continuing to set the bar higher and higher.  And we especially want to thank all our families and friends that have come out to so many early Saturday morning races.  With the economy the way it is, we know it's been a huge sacrifice for so many to be on the road supporting us. We truly are thankful."