EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Michael Brizendine's first Great Lakes Valley Conference Cross Country Championships will be his only GLVC Championships, but that's all the time the Bellarmine University freshman needed to make a lasting imprint on the conference.

On Saturday at rain-soaked Angel Mounds, Brizendine literally and figuratively made a splash in his debut at the conference meet after becoming the second harrier in program history to earn GLVC Freshman of the Year honors.

He wasn't the only Knight to take home some hardware. Junior Reid Masterson wrangled All-GLVC accolades for the first time after placing in the top 15. He led Bellarmine in the 8K race by finishing 12th in 25:55.20.

Brizendine topped all of the GLVC's freshmen when he crossed the finish line in 26:24.45. In doing so, Brizendine joined Ben Draper (2006) as members of the program who have received GLVC Freshman of the Year acknowledgement.

As a team, Bellarmine, which participated in its final GLVC Championships before transitioning to Division I, placed seventh out of 14 with a score of 185. Southern Indiana (47) captured its 15th straight title while Illinois Springfield (53) secured runner-up honors. Indianapolis (98), Missouri S&T (107), Southwest Baptist (154) and Lindenwood (172) claimed the Nos. 3-6 spots.

Bellarmine had three runners finish in the top 28. Sandwiched in between Masterson and Brizendine was junior Logan Greco in 26th (26:21.20). Freshman Nate Smith (57th, 27:25.61) and sophomore Chandler Gibson (100th, 28:21.29) rounded out the Knights' top 5.

"The conditions were very rough again for the men with lots of rain hitting before and during the race," said Bellarmine Coach Chase Broughton, who experienced his first GLVC Championships as a head coach after participating in the event as a student-athlete and then assistant coach at USI. "Overall this was a solid day for the men. We definitely wanted a better result, but considering how young our roster is and how far we have come in such a short time, we did a good job. Reid did a phenomenal job of leading us up front garnering his first All-GLVC honor. It was by the far best race of his career. Michael had been battling sickness all week and fought through adversity to get Freshman of the Year. We will regroup and get ready for the Midwest Regional in two weeks."

Southern Indiana's Titus Winders (25:04.95) was the individual champion and named GLVC Runner of the Year. USI's Mike Hillyard was selected as the Coach of the Year.

The NCAA Midwest Regional will also take place at Angel Mounds and is slated for Nov. 9.

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