(Clinton, Ms.) Sophomore Wade Garner led his Golden Lions team to its highest output at a conference championship in the Chris McCoy era, a third place finish at the 2017 Southwestern Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Championship at historic Choctaw Trails. With a time of 26:54.88, Garner finished fifth overall out of 45 runners, earning First Team All-SWAC honors.

"The men's team did good overall, and everyone produced a personal record (PR)," said head coach McCoy. "Wade received All-Conference honors for the second year in a row, but this year we had a much better overall showing as a team."

Jackson State captured the 2017 SWAC Men's Cross Country with 41 points, Prairie View A&M came in second place (41 pts.) and rounding out the top three was UAPB.

Senior Harlan Clarke crossed the finish line 16th overall, posting a time of 28:25.17 while teammate Laurel Heath finished 18th overall with a time of 28:32.28.

With a time of 29:11.55, sophomore Tyran Lions finished 23rd while junior Malique Smith and freshman Alexander Collier finished 27th and 32nd overall, posting times of 29:48.40 and 31:59.29 respectively.

According to Coach McCoy, UAPB will not compete in regional cross country competition but instead prepare for indoor track season which begins in December.