CANTON, Ga.  – Zachary Benner claims week six Athlete of the Week honors from the Southern Athletic Association. 
  
Around the SAA: 
Chile Pepper XC Festival 
Louisville Classic 
Mountain Goat Open 
Berry Meet 
Georgia Tech XC Invitational 
 

Athlete of the Week: 
Zachary Benner| Oglethorpe | SR | Hartwell, GA – Oglethorpe's Zachary Benner ran a blazing 24:29 this week at the Georgia Tech Invitational, an elite 8k race with several NCAA Division I schools competing. Benner took fourth place with a school record time. 
 

---

Notable Performances: 

• Houston Brooks| Centre | FY | Leitchfield, KY – Houston Brooks shaved nearly 20 seconds off of his previous personal best 8k time this past weekend at the Greater Louisville Classic at the University of Louisville. Brooks clocked in at 26:08.5, tying the Centre men's cross country freshman 8k record held by All-American and 2025 Centre Athletics Hall of Fame inductee John Kieffer. 

• Christian Myers | Sewanee | FY | Metairie, LA – Christian Myers won the second annual Mountain Goat Cross Country Invitational on Saturday on the new 8000m championship course. Meyer ran a 27:03, recording a new personal best by over 20 seconds, leading Sewanee to a second straight title. 

• Emilio Salas| Southwestern – Each week keeps getting better for Emilio as he finished as the Pirates top runner at the Chile Pepper XC Fest in Fayetteville. Emilio ran nearly a full minute faster than his most recent race on a much tougher course in Arkansas this week. (261;54) 

• Logan Nasky | Trinity | SR | Irving, TX – Nasky was the top SAA runner in a field of more than 400 competitors that spanned all divisions at the Louisville Classic on Saturday, leading Trinity to a fifth place finish among 41 total teams. He was Trinity's top finisher for the first time this season, running an impressive 25:38 in the 8K despite warm conditions. 
   

---

2025 Men’s Cross Country Report Archive (AOW) 
Week One – Sept. 2 (Ashton Deriso) 
Week Two -- Sept. 9 (Reeve VanDemark) 
Week Three – Sept. 16 (James Rush) 
Week Four – Sept. 23 (Zachary Benner) 
Week Five – Sept. 30 (Garrett Machado) 
 

For more information on all things SAA, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the SAA's home on the internet at www.saa-sports.com. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Southern Athletic Association news by following @SAA_Sports on Twitter (X) and @SAA_Sports on Instagram.