LITCHFIELD, Ill. -- The depth of the men's cross country team was on display Saturday as they repeated as the SLIAC champions.  It was their conference record 14th title.

In similar fashion to last year's title, it was the team depth that pushed the Panthers to the championship. After taking places 6-11 last year, the Panthers group bettered themselves today with its top runners ending 4-6 and adding another top ten finish.

John Mangold paced Greenville with a fourth place mark, completing the 8K course in a time of 25:16.

Nathan Potts (25:27) and Jaylen Shelton (25:29) were nearly stride for stride down the stretch and placed fifth and sixth respectively.

Dylan Goodyear grabbed the Panthers fourth top ten placement, coming in eighth with a time of 25:42.

Greenville finished in first in the team scoring with 35 points.  The six point margin of victory was the closest since 2010.

This marks the first time Greenville has repeated as conference champions since they won 13 straight from 1996-2007 (no meet was held in 1997). 

Following the race, the SLIAC announced their 2017 award winners with Collin Kessinger being named the Newcomer of the Year.  Greenville head coach Brian Patton was named the Coach of the Year. The SLIAC also recognized Nathan Potts on the All-Sportsmanship team.

Greenville's first team recipients included Mangold, Potts, and Shelton.  Second team honorees were Goodyear and Kessinger.

The Panthers will return to action next Friday as they conduct their Panther Trials in preparation for the NCAA Division III regional.