BENNINGTON, Vt. – Southern Vermont College freshman Bailey Hamilton (Londonderry, N.H.) has been selected as the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Men's Cross Country Rookie of the Week for the period ending September 4, 2016 as announced by the league on Monday.

Hamilton collects the honor after the SVC men's cross country team claimed the team title at its home Mountaineer Invitational on Saturday, a tough 5000 meter race that proved challenging for the field.

The Mountaineer freshman had a fantastic start to his collegiate career on Saturday, placing seventh overall and being the third runner for Southern Vermont to cross the line. He completed the mountain-side 5k course with a time of 18:30 for a split of 5:58 per mile to help SVC win its meet for the second time in three years.

Hamilton was joined in reeling in NECC accolades by junior teammate Marc Brandmeyer (Bennington, Vt.) who picked up the first Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week award. Brandmeyer had a solid start to his 2016 campaign, finishing second on his home course during the Invitational. The SVC captain crossed the line of the 5k race with a time of 17:45, setting a split pace of 5:43 per mile. It is the third time in his career that Brandmeyer has been named the NECC Runner of the Week.

Southern Vermont is back at it on Saturday with the Castleton State Invitational, start time for that 8000 meter race slated for 11 a.m.

– #LetsGoSVC –