DAYTON, Tenn. - Tennessee Wesleyan captured the 2014 Appalachian Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country championship on Saturday at Fort Bluff Camp in Dayton, Tenn., but it was not without a bit of controversy.

The lead pack of six runners were incorrectly directed the wrong way, causing them to finish the race early. The runners were disqualified after it was made clear they missed over a mile of the course. Among the six runners disqualified were three from Tennessee Wesleyan, two from Milligan, and one from Bryan.

Despite the disqualifications, Tennessee Wesleyan was able to register the victory as it had four runners finish in the top six and six in the top 10. The Bulldogs posted a score of 24 with Milligan coming in second with 70 points.

Montreat (121 points) took third, while Truett-McConnell (122) and SCAD Atlanta (124) rounded out the top five. Reinhardt (126) placed sixth, St. Andrews (147) seventh, Point (208) eighth, Union (230) ninth, and Bluefield (259) 10th.

Brandon Ellis of Milligan won the event with a time of 26:26.23 and is the AAC Runner of the Year. Tennessee Wesleyan claimed the next three places with Chad Whitehead, Samuel Hawkins, and Jacob Simons posted second, third, and fourth, respectively. Tyler Beaver of St. Andrews finished fifth.

Those five earned All-Conference Team honors as well as Caleb Young of Tennessee Wesleyan, Luis Gonzalez of Truett-McConnell, Winston Rheinbolt of Montreat, Tim Murphy of Tennessee Wesleyan, and Austin Wiseman of Tennessee Wesleyan.

Wiseman also earned All-Freshmen Team honors as well as Dylan Romero of Tennessee Wesleyan, Sam Bratton of Milligan, Brent Starks of SCAD Atlanta, Nicholas Zvirbulis of Reinhardt, Justin Braswell of Point, and Jeremy Jackson of Union.

Shawn Jakubowski of Tennessee Wesleyan collected Coach of the Year honors.

Making the Champions of Character Team are: Bluefield – Kendall Haynes; Bryan – Jacob Shelton; Milligan – Jake Bartlett; Montreat – Andrew Roof; Point – Aaron Hargrove; Reinhardt – Brent Blackwell; St. Andrews – Chase Kopp; Tennessee Wesleyan – Joseph Mullen; Truett-McConnell – Jose Castanon; and Union – Collin Wesco.

For a complete look at the results, please click here.

To view the All-Conference Team and other awards, please click here