FMU cross country team earns first PBC Team Sportsmanship Award

The Francis Marion University men's cross country team and Augusta State University women's cross country team are the first two recipients of the Peach Belt Conference Team Sportsmanship Award.

The awards program, which includes honoring one team from each of the league's 12 championship sports, will also recognize one institution with the ‘Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award.'  This is the first year of the awards program.

The program presents an award following each championship season to the team in that sport that best exemplifies the spirit of sportsmanship and generally conducts themselves with a high degree of integrity, character and class.  The team award is selected by other teams who compete in that sport.  Points are awarded based on how each team finished in the voting and in June, the institution with the highest totals will receive the ‘PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award.'

Francis Marion finished in the top five in each of its regular-season meets this year and placed fifth at the PBC Championships.  Junior Hillary Kiprop, a native of Eldoret, Kenya, was named the PBC Runner of the Year after a regular-season that saw him win two meets.  He later earned All-Conference and All-Region honors.

The remainder of the FMU squad included senior Dan Brann (Syracuse, NY), senior Steven Holmes (Hodges, SC), sophomore Ben Miller (Chesnee, SC), sophomore Bryson Robinson (Aiken, SC), sophomore Jerry Roth (Avon Lake, OH), senior TJ Simmons (Goose Creek, SC), and junior Adam Wilson (Grahamsville, NY).