Staff report

ROCKY MOUNT — Former Carson standout Bricen Burleson, a freshman at Pfeiffer University, finished sixth at the USA Southern 8K Cross Country Championships on Saturday and was named Rookie of the Year the league.

Former Southern runner Landon Cromer placed ninth. Burleson (17:17) and Cromer (17:25) were second team all-conference.

Pfeiffer’s men’s team won its first Southern championship and second championship in program history.

Pfeiffer’s Bob Marchinko was named Southern Coach of the Year.

Pfeiffer placed seven runners in the top 10 to dethrone perennial powerhouse Southern Virginia. Five schools released team scores.

Sawyer Helms led Pfeiffer with a second-place finish in 25:42. Cannon Powell clocked 25:53 to finish third. Camden Misenheimer finished fifth in 27:02. Those three were first-team all-conference.

Cole Huggins finished seventh. Ezequiel Cannas finished 10th.