The ISU men's cross country team was crowned champion Sunday at the 2011 Missouri Valley Championships (MVC), making it their third consecutive victory. Head Coach John McNichols was awarded coach of the year for the eighth time in his career.

"We knew we were certainly in a position where we could take the meet, and to actually execute it was really rewarding," McNichols said.

The men battled Southern Illinois University for the title, taking first with 34 points to Southern's 48. Four Sycamore men finished with All-Conference honors.

Senior runner Jeremiah Vaughan led ISU with a time of 25:16 and joined only three other men in Sycamore history to earn MVC second place honors. This was his third All-Conference finish.

Earning his second All-Conference honor and finishing fourth overall was senior runner Craig Padgett, with a time of 25:19. Padgett led the Sycamores for a portion of the meet before Vaughan caught up with him to take the lead.

Junior runner Dustin Betz and junior runner Albaro Escalera claimed the sixth and seventh place spots in a partnering finish, with times of 25:27.0 and 25:27.7. It was Betz's first All-Conference honor, and Escalera's second.

"It feels a lot better than last year when I finished 11th. It's nice to get in the top ten," Betz said. "I think everyone ran well. We were ready to run fast today."

Senior runner Tyler Kent finished fifth for the Sycamores and 15th overall in a time of 25:48. Kent's finish was crucial to determining the first place finish, McNichols said.

"What was really key for us today was that fifth man, between us and Southern, and that was fortunately fifth-year senior Tyler Kent," said McNichols. "It was his last conference meet of his college career.  There is some poetic justice there, that's for sure."

Also contributing to the men's championship team was freshman runner Tristan Selby, who finished 18th overall with a time of 25:54;freshman Drew Gambill, who finished 26th with a time of 26:11; and sophomore Brandon Query, who finished 46th with a time of 26:56.

"In the past few meets, we haven't raced as well as a team, but today it turned out everybody did well," Vaughan said. "We stuck together and ended up winning."

ISU has claimed six of the eight previous MVC Championships.

"It seems like they come by, come in and leave so fast," McNichols said. "They have set a legacy for the next group, and things look bright for the future."

Next up for the Sycamore men's cross country team is the Hoosier Invitational on Friday.  Only part of the team is scheduled to travel to the meet as the others prepare for the Great Lakes Regional Meet in a couple of weeks in Toledo, Ohio.