WHEELING — Davis & Elkins had seven of the top 12 finishers at Saturday’s Mountain East Conference Cross Country Championships as the Senators captured the team title. The team victory ended the University of Charleston’s six-year run as the MEC men’s team champion.

Junior Jan Thewes led the way for Davis & Elkins, edging UC’s Samuel Idiens by .3 seconds to win the individual men’s title. For his efforts, Thewes was named the MEC Men’s Runner of the Year by a vote of the league’s head coaches. Thewes and teammates Carter McKenna (third), Charlie Stephenson (fifth), Christopher Lucas (seventh), Jackson Gibson (eighth) and Jordan Thomas (10th) all earned a place on the 10-member MEC all-conference first team.

The top seven finishers from each program contribute to the overall team score. Davis & Elkins finished with 24 points, followed by defending champion UC (45), Concord (102), West Virginia Wesleyan (120) and West Liberty (168).

“It was very special for us since we had never won it as a team,” Thewes said. “That was our main goal coming into this race, just win it for the first time as a team and have a good team performance.”

Davis & Elkins entered Saturday’s event, an 8,000-meter race held on the Crispin Course at Oglebay Park, as the top-ranked team in the Atlantic Region. The team’s head coach, Jason Pyles, was named the MEC Coach of the Year.

Glenville State’s Patrick Reilly, who finished 13th out of 95 runners, was named the MEC Freshman of the Year.

First Team All-MEC

Jan Thewes, Davis & Elkins

Samuel Idiens, Charleston

Carter McKenna, Davis & Elkins

Zane Chalker, Charleston

Charlie Stephenson, Davis & Elkins

Corey Schobelock, Charleston

Christopher Lucas, Davis & Elkins

Jackson Gibson, Davis & Elkins

Luke McKenna, Point Park

Jordan Thomas, Davis & Elkins

Second Team All-MEC

Anthony Sanders, W.Va. Wesleyan

Konnor Allison, Davis & Elkins

Patrick Reilly, Glenville State

Logan Zuchelli, Concord

Jules Geffroy-Remot, Charleston

Braden Ward, Concord

Robert Allen, West Liberty

Cole Friend, Charleston

Evan Pyles, W.Va. Wesleyan

Ethan Board, Concord

Coach of the Year: Jason Pyles, Davis & Elkins

Women’s race

Davis & Elkins junior Lauren Twyman cleared the field by 14 seconds to capture the individual women’s crown at the Mountain East Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Oglebay Park. Twyman and her teammates helped Davis & Elkins also claim the team title, ending the University of Charleston’s four-year reign as the team champions.

Point Park’s Cassondra O’Connor finished in second place and swept the individual season awards: MEC Runner of the Year and MEC Freshman of the Year. The season awards are decided by nominations and votes by the league’s head coaches.

Davis & Elkins head coach Jason Pyles was named the MEC Coach of the Year for both men and women.

“I just went out there and ran and I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve never won a collegiate race before,” Twyman said. “I’ve also never beaten my teammate, Lydia, before. It’s surreal.”

Twyman led the 10-person MEC all-conference first team, followed by teammates Lydia Falkenstein (fifth) and Savanna Hartman (ninth). Davis & Elkins scored 41 points as a team, beating four-time defending champion UC (82 points). Point Park finished third with 94 points, ahead of West Virginia Wesleyan (fourth, 100) and Glenville State (fifth, 147).

First Team All-MEC

Lauren Twyman, Davis & Elkins

Cassondra O’Connor, Point Park

Leigha Hall, West Virginia Wesleyan

Carlina Jacquez, Fairmont State

Lydia Falkenstein, Davis & Elkins

Natalie Barr, Glenville State

Beth Sykes, Charleston

Madison Woolwine, Charleston

Savanna Hartman, Davis & Elkins

Sydney Hambel, Wheeling

Second Team All-MEC

Zoe Belshan, Davis & Elkins

Allison Plassio, Point Park

Lindsey Dillon, West Virginia Wesleyan

Mercy Jepleting, Charleston

Ella Hesson, Davis & Elkins

Lacey Dimit, West Liberty

Jana Schmid, Point Park

Megan Mitchell, Fairmont State

Rebecca Tellez, Davis & Elkins

Madison Cornett, Concord

Coach of the Year: Jason Pyles, Davis & Elkins