By Adam Hunt
The Mercer Men’s Cross Country team is looking to go the distance this Fall, boosted by a talented group of new signings.
Coach Ryan Bailey has increased the size of his roster to 18 athletes - the plan seems to be strength in numbers.
Incoming Georgia natives Trey Ellis from St. Pius X High School (Marietta), Chris Svidesskis out of Dominion Academy (Marietta) and Taylor Snyder from Greenbriar High School (Augusta) all inked national letters of intent to run for the Bears over the Summer.
Ellis gained attention in cross country as well track, garnering a second-place finish at the 2008 Mercer RunFit Invitational and was runner-up at the GHSA Region 5AAA meet. He also collected a seventh-place at the state meet and earned honorable mention on Team Georgia 2008. On the track, Ellis was runner-up in the 1600m at the Region 5AAA meet.
Svidesskis helped lead the Knights to both the 2008 Region 1AAA Cross Country Championship and the GISA AAA State Championship, while individually claiming a fourth-place finish in the 2008 Footlocker South Regional Cross Championships in an impressive time of 16:03.
He garnered three third-place finishes at the 2008 GISA AAA state track meet (800m, 1600m and the 3200m) and helped boost his 4x400m relay squad to a sixth-place finish en route to becoming the fifth-highest scorer in the meet.
Greenbriar’s Taylor Snyder helped lead his team to regional championships in both cross country and track, as the Wolfpack claimed the 2008 Region 2 AAAAA cross country championship as well as the 2009 Region 2 AAAAA 3200m title in track.
Snyder followed up by posting a 76th place finish (out of 255 runners) at the Footlocker South Regional Cross Country Championships with a time of 16:04. He was also runner-up in the 1600m at the 2009 Region 2 AAAAA meet and notched a pair of sixth-place finishes in the 3200m and 1600m at the GHSA state track meet, picking up Greenbriar’s only points at the state competition.
Coach Bailey has also signed Jacob Law, out of South Oldham High School in Crestwood, Kentucky. Law joins The Bears along with fellow South Oldham graduate Kacie Niemann on the Women’s team.
Last year, Law was the 2008 Region 3 AA and Kentucky State AA champion in cross country. As a junior, he finished 11th in the AAA classification and recorded a remarkable 9:39 for two miles, claiming a second-place finish at the state championships.
The Bluegrass State native also garnered a 29th place finish at the 2008 Footlocker South Region Championships, covering the 5K in a time of 15:41 and was recently named to the Kentucky High School All-Class Super Team after closing out his stellar prep career with the Dragons.
As a member of both the National Honor Society and the National Beta Club, Law has proven to be as strong the classroom as well as on the trails.
With such strength in depth, Coach Bailey and his Mercer Bears will be racing to make a big impression this season.
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