SUMMERVILLE, S.C.- Junior Donnie Mikels-Cowart placed 14th overall with a time of 25:47 to lead the VMI men's cross team to a fourth place finish at the 2006 New Balance Big South Cross Country Championships presented by UCS, held at the Miler Country Club in Summerville, S.C. on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, senior Anthony Harris was named Big South Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's cross country, making him eligible for the League's all-sport Scholar-Athlete Award, presented at the end of the 2006-07 athletic seasons.

Coming in just behind Mikels-Cowart (Rustburg, Va./Rustburg) was Harris (Orlando, Fla./Cypress Creek) who placed 16th overall with a 25:54 clocking. He was followed by junior Ben Switzer (Rockbridge Baths, Va./Rockbridge County) whose time of 26:05 placed him 20th overall and third amongst the Keydets, his best showing of the season.

Rounding out the team's scoring runners were freshman Jonathan Buckland (Centreville, Va./Fork Union Military Academy), placing 31st with his 26:54 showing, and senior Graham Forbes (Richmond, Va./Collegiate), who placed 34th overall with a 27:08 time. Finishing just behind Forbes was junior Kurt Able (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Wesley Chapel), who placed 35th with a 27:11 clocking. Also competing was sophomore Patrick Eggleston (Nokesville, Va./Brentsville), whose 28:15 time placed him 53rd.

"The men's team finished where I thought we would if we ran a solid race," said VMI head coach Paul Spangler. "We knew that if we didn't run well, that we could've fallen back to fifth, sixth or maybe even seventh. Ben Switzer really ran well today, definitely his best race of the season. All of our top six ran solid races, and we really did exactly what we thought we could do today."

Liberty junior Josh McDougal won his third-consecutive Big South Championship, leading Liberty to the team title as well. He was joined in the top three by teammate Jarvis Jelan and by his brother, sophomore Jordan McDougal.

The VMI cross country teams return to action as they travel to Louisville, Ky. to compete at the NCAA Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11.