WESTFIELD, Mass. – Southern Vermont College claimed its fourth-straight New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's cross country championship Saturday afternoon at Stanley Park behind senior captain Marc Brandmeyer's (Bennington, Vt.) fourth-career individual crown.

Brandmeyer solidified himself as one of the league's best-ever runners as he capped his career with a perfect 4-for-4 showing at Conference title meets. No other NECC harrier, from either the men's or women's side, has ever won more than two individual championships.

Three Mountaineers placed in the top five on Saturday to help SVC tally 53 team points—narrowly edging Wheelock College which came in second overall with 58.

"It feels really good to win," SVC first-year head coach Jarrett Blankenship said. "It feels pretty good as a coach to do what I came here to do: to be successful, and to keep alive the tradition of being the team to beat in the Conference. We've been talking about it all season; the guys were doubting themselves early in the year—especially the ones who knew what it took to win conference. The guys who we brought on were extremely hard working from the start, and then everyone started believing we could do it. That fed through the entire season and led to [Saturday's] result."

Southern Vermont will next head to the NCAA Division III New England Regional Qualifier held at Southern Maine University on November 11; that 8K is set to start at 12 p.m. in Gorham.

Joining Brandmeyer on the All-NECC First Team was sophomore Davanté Smith (Ellenville, N.Y.) who finished with a time of 28:52 to be the second runner to cross the line. Bennington College freshman C.G. Holden (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also made his way to the First Team as he finished third for the Mountaineers and fifth overall at 29:53.

"To four-peat, and with Marc winning, it's really great," Blankenship added. "It sets the stage for the next couple years to come with Davanté and C.G.; we've talked about how this is sort of just the beginning for them. With Marc leaving, they're essentially the leaders for the guys now."

Junior first-time runner Jackson Amankrah (New York City, N.Y.) took two seconds off of his previous personal record to come in at 35:51 and place fourth for SVC; the title is his second NECC championship after he won one with the Southern Vermont men's basketball team in 2016.

Junior Isaiah Backels (Derry, N.H.) was close behind to round out the Mountaineers' scoring placements as he finished at 36:04. Freshman Orlando Guichardo (New York, N.Y.) came in at 51:12 in his first collegiate championship.

Southern Vermont College
1st – Marc Brandmeyer: 27:50
2nd – Davanté Smith: 28:52
5th – C.G. Holden: 29:53
22nd – Jackson Amankrah: 35:51 (PR)
23rd – Isaiah Backels: 36:04
44th – Orlando Guichardo: 51:12

– #LetsGoSVC –