Southland Cross Country Event Recaps
The Southland Conference cross
country opening weekend hit the ground running as three league teams recorded
first place finishes and six student-athletes tore the tape as individual event
champions. Listed below are the event releases for each accomplishment.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin
athletes took the top four slots in both races Friday of the season-opening
Lumberjack Opener at Pecan Acres Park. A combination of uniformed and
unattached runners for SFA filled up the one-through-four positions in the
women's race, as well as the men's race.
The meet is a
non-scoring, relay-style event set up with athletes paired into teams of two.
In the women's race, each runner completed two laps of a 2,000-meter circuit,
while the men ran three laps each.
In the women's race, junior
Stephanie Ganter and sophomore transfer Lauren Smith teamed as unattached
competitors to take the individual title with a combined time of 29:52.2 on the
8,000-meter course. Seniors Meredith Blocker and Marie Flores raced in uniform
and finished second with a time of 30:25.2. Classmates Amy Shackelford and
Megan Jenkins finished just four-tenths of a second behind them in third.
Freshmen Amanda Walters and Becca Blubaugh ran unattached and took fourth with
a time of 30:33.0.
Lumberjacks likewise dominated
the men's race. Freshman Ryan Tilotta teamed with junior Harmon McClanahan in
an unattached pair to win the race with a time of 39:18.1. Junior Mitch Ownbey
and redshirt freshman Jonus Rodriguez competed in uniform and took second,
crossing the line in 39:23.9. The unattached duo of Dennis Yeats and Moses
Luevano were third, finishing in 39:28.3. Junior Logan Smart and redshirt
freshman Nathan Collier took fourth with a time of 39:33.4.
Athletes from
Northwestern State and Centenary College also participated in the meet.
Stephen F. Austin will
open the season in earnest on Sept. 25 when it travels to Memphis for the
Memphis Twilight.
LAKE CHARLES, La. -
McNeese State's runners put record breaking results up in winning their own
cross country meet here Friday afternoon.
It was the season opener and the second McNeese
cross country two person relay race, went for 6K and both the Cowboys and the
Cowgirls came out winners.
Joshua Sawe and David Rooney teamed to win the
men's race in a record 16:41 while Alvy Carragher and Amy Guinn successfully
defended their title in the women's race with a 20:24 effort.
No team totals were posted.
"We had good weather and we made a good
start," said McNeese head coach Brendon Gilroy. "Really, I thought
that we ran well. We wanted to put some numbers out there so that we can gauge
just where we are. "I was real pleased."
The Carragher-Guinn team won their race by 15
seconds over Emily Charlesworth and Jessica McCleod of Nicholls. Carragher went
out in 10:13 and Guinn came in with a 10:11.
The Cowgirls also got a fourth place from the team
of newcomer Georgia Ball and Tinette Burger with a 20:53 clocking and fifth
place from Fionnuala Ross and Carly Thurman with a 21:20 effort.
The Sawe-Rooney team wasn't supposed to be. Rooney
was slated to run with Jordan Niel but Niel had to back out because of a
"bug" and Sawe took his place.
Sawe ran the lead leg in 8:22 and Rooney kicked it
in in 8:19.
The two were the Cowboys lead runners last cross
country season, Sawe placing second at conference and Rooney third and then
Rooney going on to run 58th at the NCAA national championship meet.
Also for the Cowboys, the team of Jarrett LeBlanc
and Johnathan Koenck placed second at 16:57 while Brent Ewing and Kenny Pierce
ran fourth at 17:53 and Edwin Koenck and Kevin Laughlin finished fifth at
18:09.
Next up for McNeese will be the LSU invitational on
Sept. 25 (Cowgirls) and the Roy Griak Invitational (Cowboys) in Minneapolis,
also on Sept. 25.
HOUSTON - Lamar University looked to be in midseason form as the Cardinal men
grabbed first place in the season-opening Johnny Morriss Cross Country
Invitational hosted by the University of Houston on Friday evening.
Junior college transfer Tallum Kipruto
won his first meet as a Cardinal after covering the 4,750 meter course in
14:46.25. Freshman Matt Johnson was just behind, opening his collegiate career
with an impressive 14:48.77 for second place.
All five Cardinal runners finished in
the top 16 as Lamar won the five-team meet with 35 points. Rice finished just
behind with 38, followed by UH (51), Lon Morris (106) and Sam Houston State
(114).
The Lamar women got a sixth-place finish
from freshman Katrine Vaesel to help the Lady Cardinals to a third place finish.
Vaesel finished in a time of 11:34.08 on the 3,133 meter course. Texas' Mia
Behm won the meet with a time of 10:52.75.
Texas had the top five finishers on the
women's side in winning the seven-team event with 15 points. The host Cougars
took second with 59 points and Lamar finished with 66. The final four teams
were Sam Houston State (106), Lon Morris (134), Prairie View A&M (159) and
Texas Southern (200).
Rounding out the Lady Cardinals' top
five were Samantha Walkow in ninth (11:40.11), Tessa Denni in 12th (11:44.07),
Nora-Beth Saunders in 19th (12:18.61) and Sharon Sason in 23rd (12:36.29).
Lamar's Anthony Pequeno took fifth in
the men's race with a time of 15:16.36. Kyle Hawley was 14th in 15:43.41 and
Ryan Kelly took 20th in 15:52.82.
Lamar will continue its 2010 season in
two weeks at the Rice Invitational. The Cardinals, who are the four-time
defending Southland Conference champions, will host the Southland meet on Oct.
28.
WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Freshman Emily Koenig guided the women's team
to a third place finish after earning first place laurels at the Midwestern
State Invitational.
In her very first collegiate meet,
Koenig guided the Mavericks with her time of 14:31.88 in the 4k run. Amanda
McMahon wasn't far behind finishing fourth with a time of 14:52.08. Perri Ford
ran 15:35.58 for 12th place while Jennifer Carey crossed the finish line 14th
with a time of 15:43.80.
Esther Abuto recorded a 20th place
finish with a time of 16:04.07 while Marissa Paz came in 24th place with a time
of 16:19.93. Danisha Hicks registered a time of 17:21.76 for 39th place while
Lydia Chebii turned in a 44th place finish after her time of 17:45.71. Sophia
Yousefi finished 56th overall with a time of 18:57.06, respectively.
Senior Heinz Schwartzkopf led the men's
team to a fourth place finish after registering a 13th place finish with a time
of 19:44.12.
Coming in 19th place was Eric Montou
with a time of 19:56.27 while newcomer David Rayo turned in a time of 19:56.27
for 21st place.
Aaron Purser crossed the finish line in
26th place with a time of 20:08.40 while Cody Widner ran 20:26.81 for 34th
place. Hance Loyd turned in a 44th place finish with a time of 21:01.02 while
Kevin Vasquez ran 22:31.67 for 61st place, respectively.
Up next for the Mavericks is the UT
Arlington Season Opener on Saturday, Sept. 11 at Vandergriff Park.
SAN ANTONIO - Junior Albert Cardenas and freshman Alyssa Diaz both ran to
second-place finishes on Wednesday evening, as the UTSA cross country teams
opened the fall with a pair of team titles at the Trinity Opener.
Cardnenas covered the two-mile
Brackenridge Park trail in 9:47 and the Converse native just edged fellow
third-year teammates Ivan Garcia and Brandon Chiuminetta, who finished third
and fourth place, repectively, with the same time. Junior Cole Reveal, the only
other Roadrunner in the top 10, placed eighth in 10:04.
The UTSA men scored 28 points to easily
outdistance runner-up Trinity (35) and third-place Texas (60).
Meanwhile, Diaz led six Roadrunners
women that crossed the tape in the top 10 with her 11:50 clocking. Fellow
first-year teammate Courtney Haass was third in 11:52, while junior Courtney
Nelson (11:54), freshman Samantha Fish (11:54) and redshirt freshman Lauren
Losoya (12:05) placed fifth through seventh, respectively. Freshman Isabel
Balbontin (12:17/10th) was UTSA's other top-10 performer.
The women netted 23 points to defeat
Trinity (38) and Texas Lutheran (87) in the team standings.
Both squads will be back in action on
Friday, Sept. 17, when they host the Ricardo Romo/Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Classic at Brooks-City Base.
LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Southeastern Louisiana men's and women's cross country teams
opened their seasons at the McNeese State Distance Relay Friday night, and left
coaches excited about progress made in the off-season. Student-athletes were
paired into two-person teams for the 6K race.
On the men's side, Southeastern placed
three duos in the top eight. The Lions' preeminent twosome of senior Reese Lee
and senior Henry Rop took third place with a time of 17:28. Junior Jaron Ortego
and freshman Joseph LeGrange finished in sixth at 18:11. Sophomore Scott
Richardson and sophomore Jesse McDavitt earned an eighth place result, crossing
the finish line in 18:56.
The women were highlighted by senior
Whitney Curry and senior Naomi Jeruto. The leading pair of Lady Lions ended up
in sixth place, completing the race in 22:00. They were followed by sophomore
Bethany Burst and freshman Heather Fitzhenry in seventh at 22:54.
"Overall as a group, both our men and
women were much improved," head coach Sean Brady said. "Whether that shows at
the end of the year, we'll see, but from the first meet, I see strong
indicators that we'll be a better team."
Brady and assistant coach Ryan Bourque
noted their delight about the performances of Southeastern's freshmen. Rather
than being overwhelmed in their first collegiate meet, they stepped up and
responded to the situation.
"I feel like we showed some
competitiveness," Bourque said. "Plus, we ran as a team. The kids were very
supportive of each other. I believe we're going to be very competitive in
conference if they continue to work this way and we keep progressing."
After taking next weekend off, the Lions
and Lady Lions return to action on Sept. 18 at the Azalea City Classic, hosted
by South Alabama.
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Freshman Emily Charlesworth and senior Jessica McLeod led the way for the Nicholls women and Kaseyh
Kaiser and Blaine Gisclair paced the Colonel men as the Nicholls State
University men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2010 campaign at
the McNeese Relays in Lake Charles on Friday evening.
The McNeese Relay boasts one of the more
unique formats for a sanctioned NCAA cross country meet with multiple
two-person teams from each school competing and members of each team were running
half of the 6K course. Nicholls,
Southland Conference rival Southeastern Louisiana, in-state rival Southern and
host McNeese made up the field
The Nicholls women boasted two of the
top three teams as Charlesworth and McLeod teamed up for a time of 20:39, just
15 seconds off the winning pace of McNeese duo Alvy Carragher and Amy
Guinn. Seniors Lauren Jones and Kadi
Whisnant weren't' too far behind in third as the Colonel upper classmen clocked
in at 20:45. Entering the weekend ranked
13th in the South Central region by the United States Track and Field and Cross
Country Coaches Association, the Colonels hope taking two of the top three
spots will help convince voters to bump Nicholls ahead of No. 12 ranked
McNeese.
On the men's side, newcomers Kaiser and
Gisclair led the way against some of the best distance runners in the
region. The duo clocked in at 18:30 for
seventh place. Meanwhile, Tyler Folse
and Justin Babin (ninth, 19:35), Ross Mullooly and Joseph Fryou (12th, 20:47)
and Nic Benoit and Dylan Williams (21:55) rounded out the field for the
Colonels.
Nicholls cross country will return to
action on Sept. 18 with a trip to the University of Alabama for one of the
biggest regular season cross country meets of the season, the 2010 Crimson
Classic.
EDINBURG, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's cross country teams
opened the 2010 season at the UTPA Bronc Buster in Edinburg. The meet was
shortened from the original length due to rain which made for slippery conditions
on the course.
The meet was originally scheduled for
eight laps around the course, but both teams completed only four turns around
before the relays were stopped due to safety concerns.
On the men's side, A&M-Corpus
Christi finished in three of the top five spots with Daniel Barlow/Patrick
Kimeli coming in first overall. Jacob Abrego/Ari Perez were third, Brandon
Steed/Adrian Marquez fourth, Eloy Zertuche/Scott Vance seventh and Jason
Garcia/Dallas Brown eighth.
For the women, the Islanders took four
of the top five spots and six in the top eight. BreAnna Briggs/Julia Sambu
paced the field coming in first, Courtney Johnson/Kristine Torres finished
second while Sarah Kimiayo/Caitlin Arambula came in third.
Sheila Salil/Danielle Higgins were
fifth, Melissa Jones/Shelby Nichols came in sixth place and Daniela
Prado/Cecilia Gonzalez were seventh to round out the Islanders delegation.
"It was an early race which the
kids had fun competing in tonight," said head coach Shawn Flanagan
"With the rain we didn't get as good a look as we will next week at
A&M, but everyone had a good time."
The Islanders travel to College Station
for the Texas A&M Invite next Friday night.
HOUSTON - Sam Houston's women's cross country team placed
four and the men were fifth in the Bearkats' first meet of the 2010 season
Friday evening at the UH Johnny Morris Invitational in Houston.
Alyssa Dooley and Victoria Gemeny led the Bearkat
women, placing 16th and 17th individually. Dooley produced a time of 12:06.27
on the 3,133-meter course while Gemeny was clocked in 12:11.59.
Other Sam Houston women finishers included Sara
Collazos 21st with a 12:27.94 time, Crystal Santos 27th at 12.50.37 and Kim
Brooks 39th with a 13:46.99 time.
Patrick Krol led the Bearkat men with a 17th place
finish on a 4,750-meter course. Krol ran 15:46.14.
Patrick Pitts was 22nd with a 15:58.90. Clint
Anders placed 30th (16:14.77), Travis Kocurek 37th (16:51.41) and Austin Brown
45th (17:30.63).
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Northwestern State
started its cross country season Friday evening with good performances in the
SFA Lumberjack Opener hosted by Stephen F. Austin, leaving the Northwestern
coaches upbeat about the unscored competition.
The
meet was scheduled as a tandem competition but the format was altered,
with runners going in 2,000 meter splits.
"I'm
satisfied with how we ran overall," said veteran Demons' coach Leon
Johnson. "We were more competitive against the SFA runners than we've been
before, and they are a conference championship contender. Mark Dotson, Jason
Enright and Dusty Dischler all ran very well for us. This was a good start for
us."
Both
Northwestern teams didn't alter their training for the meet and will continue
that path for a while. But new Lady Demons' coach Heather McDaniel said her
runners' efforts were encouraging.
"We
got a good run for all the ladies and a positive step in the right direction,"
said McDaniel. "This was more of a workout than a race but,
good to see and compete against other teams to give us an idea of where we are
at in our training."
Northwestern
runs again next Saturday at Louisiana Tech in the first scored competition of
the season.
WACO, Texas - The Texas State men's and women's cross country
teams opened the season tonight at the Bear Twilight Invite hosted by Baylor
University. The race was held at the Baylor Intramural Field.
Michael Morris was the first Bobcat to complete the 6k
race, after he finished in 19:27 for 14th place. The next Bobcat to cross the
line was Andres Herrera who was right behind him in 19:33 for 16th place.
Rounding out the top five were Jonathan Hernandez (19:40), Jesus Ordaz (20:02)
and Matt Novak (20:15) to help the men finish in third place.
The Texas State women finished the invitational in
fourth place. Steffanie Armstrong led the pack placing 17th in 14:58. Sandra
Venegas was two places behind her, completing the race in a time of 15:22.
Newcomer Michelle Jones ran a time of 16:03, followed by Dana Dolejsi (16:19),
and Lindsey Maxwell (16:44).
Texas State's next race will be at the Texas A&M
Invite on Friday, Sept. 10.