Jake Poyner, a WCHS graduate, holds the trophy after leading his Lipscomb University men’s cross country team to a conference title Saturday. Poyner also earned the individual title. Owen Glogovsky, another former WCHS standout, is at the far right (Photo courtesy of the Lipscomb University Sports Information Department)

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Jake Poyner knows a thing or two about winning races.

The former Warsaw cross country and track star added to his lengthy list of impressive performances again on Saturday.

The Lipscomb University senior earned top individual honors in leading his team to a championship in the ASUN Conference Meet.

Poyner earned the individual title on the men’s side, finishing first in a field of 59 runners with a time of 24:02.2.

“Jake ran absolutely amazing,” Lipscomb Director of Cross Country Bill Taylor said. “Second-fastest time in ASUN Championship history. He went after it from the start and led the whole way. He set the tone for the whole men’s team.”

For the fourth time in the past five years, the Lipscomb men’s cross country team took home the conference crown after placing first overall with 29 points.

Fellow senior Juan Gonzalez placed fourth with a time of 24:31.1 to earn a First-Team All-Conference spot.

Freshman Silas Griffith earned Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-Conference honors after finishing seventh with a time of 24:48.1.

A trio of Bisons earned Second-Team All-Conference spots as William Kachman (24:48.6), Chase Hampton (25:01.0), and Zach Israel (25:03.2) finished eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.

Poyner, a 2013 WCHS graduate and the son of Tim and Sue Poyner, began his career at Wake Forest before transferring to Lipscomb. He earned All-State cross country honors his senior season after helping coach Jim Mills’ Warsaw cross country team place fourth in the State Finals. He then earned All-State honors in both the 1,600 and 3,200 during the 2013 track season as he led coach Matt Campbell’s team to a fifth-place finish at the State Finals.

The Bisons fought off North Florida for the individual and team titles, as the Ospreys finished second with 34 points and had the second and third best times overall in the individual standings.

“The men ran tough,” Taylor said. “It was a back-and-forth battle with North Florida the whole way. The guys would come by one time, and we would feel like they were ahead. The next time we’d see them we thought we were behind.

“I think we were behind again with just 300m to go, but the guys finished so strong. They definitely wanted it bad and left it all out there.”

Former Warsaw star Owen Glogovsky is a sophomore member of the Lipscomb men’s team. Glogovsky competed at the State Finals for Warsaw in cross country on three occasions, both in 2012 and 2013 with the team and in 2015 as an individual qualifier.

The Lipscomb men’s team will be back in action on Nov. 10 at the South Region Championships in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.