Stabler and Hukka Named Southland Cross Country Athletes of the Year

Stabler and Hukka Named Southland Cross Country Athletes of the Year

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Southland Conference

FRISCO, Texas – Lamar senior Sam Stabler and freshman Minttu Hukka were selected as the Southland Cross Country Athletes of the Year by vote of the league’s head coaches, the conference office announced Thursday.
 
Stabler set a new championship 8K record at the Southland Cross Country Championships on Monday and captured the individual men’s title, finishing the race with a time of 23:29.1. Earlier this season, the Leicester, England (Ratcliffe College), native was the Southland’s top runner and a third-place finisher at the nationally competitive 26th Annual Chile Pepper Festival race hosted by Arkansas. Competing in the Chile Pepper Festival was a total of 20 teams and 429 runners. Stabler also posted the second-best collegiate time at the 39th Annual Justin F. Cooper Memorial Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas, where he competed against runners from 13 different schools. Twice this season Stabler earned Southland cross country athlete of the week honors. For the second straight year, Stabler earned all-conference first-team honors; he was a fourth-place finisher at last year’s conference championship.

Hukka won the women’s individual title at the Southland Cross Country Championship, shattering the championship 6K record with a time of 20:06.6. For her first-place finish, the Kotka, Finland (Kotkan Lyseon Lukio), native earned all-conference first-team honors. Hukka becomes only the third cross country runner in Southland history to be named both athlete and freshman of the year. Emily Koenig of former Southland member, Texas-Arlington, was the first to accomplish it in 2010, followed by Brooke Cassar of Central Arkansas in 2013.
 
Lamar’s Jan Lukas Becker was named Southland Cross Country Male Freshman of the Year after a sixth-place finish at the conference championship. The Saarbrücken, Germany (Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium), native ran the 8,000-meter course in 24:12.09, finishing just under a second behind teammate Michael Kershaw.

Stephen F. Austin sophomore Charles Mathenge and Lamar graduate student Jannika John were selected Southland Cross Country Newcomers of the Year. Mathenge completed the conference championship 8K race with a time of 23:42.3, earning a second-place finish and all-conference first-team honors. The Ol Kalou, Kenya, native also turned in impressive finishes at the 26th Annual Chile Pepper Festival race and Alabama’s Crimson Classic. John came in third at the conference championship, claiming all-conference first-team honors. The Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany (Technische München), native ran the 6,000-meter course in 20:49.6 and helped lead Lamar to its second consecutive league title.

Lamar head coach Darren Gauson was named Southland Cross Country Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year after sweeping team titles for the second straight season at the Southland Cross Country Championships. Gauson led the Cardinals to their eighth league title in nine years and led the Lady Cardinals to their fifth team title overall. He becomes only the second Southland cross country coach to earn men’s and women’s coach of the year honors in consecutive seasons, Shawn Flanagan did so with Texas-San Antonio in 1995-96. Last season, Gauson became the first Southland and Lamar cross country coach to win both coach of the year awards since Sita Waru accomplished the feat in 2006.

The top-15 finishers in each race earned All-Southland Conference honors. The top five finishers earned first-team honors, while the next five finishers were named to the second team. The 11th through 15th finishers earned honorable mention all-conference honors.
 
Individual Award Winners
Male Athlete of the Year: Sam Stabler, Lamar
Female Athlete of the Year: Minttu Hukka, Lamar
Male Freshman of the Year: Jan Lukas Becker, Lamar
Female Freshman of the Year: Minttu Hukka, Lamar
Male Newcomer of the Year: Charles Mathenge, Stephen F. Austin
Female Newcomer of the Year: Jannika John, Lamar
Men’s Coach of the Year: Darren Gauson, Lamar
Women’s Coach of the Year: Darren Gauson, Lamar
 
Men’s 2014 All-Southland Conference Cross Country Teams

First Team
Name School Class Hometown/High School
Sam Stabler Lamar Sr. Leicester, England/Ratcliffe College
Charles Mathenge Stephen F. Austin So. Ol Kalou, Kenya/Kenya/Oklahoma State
Philipp Baar A&M-Corpus Christi Sr. Schwerin, Germany/Sportsgymnasium Schwerin
Alex Dunbar Lamar Gr. Barningham, England/St. Mary’s University College
Michael Kershaw Lamar Gr. Cardiff, Wales/Cardiff Metropolitan University
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
Second Team
Name School Class Hometown/High School
Jan Lukas Becker Lamar Fr. Saarbrücken, Germany/Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium
Jonathan Burgess Central Arkansas Sr. Queensland, Australia/Colby CC
Colby Mehmen Stephen F. Austin So. Princeton, Texas/Princeton H.S.
Oliver James McNeese State So. Sunderland, England/Sunderland High School
Ryan Creech Lamar Sr. Cork, Ireland/ Glanmire Community College

Honorable Mention: Cody Brown, Stephen F. Austin; Enock Bor, McNeese State; Josh Torres, Stephen F. Austin; Jeffrey Weisheit, Stephen F. Austin; Karl Schreiber, Sam Houston State.

Women’s 2014 All-Southland Conference Cross Country Teams

First Team
Name School Class Hometown/High School
Minttu Hukka Lamar Fr. Kotka, Finland/Kotkan Lyseon Lukio
Leigh Lattimore Lamar Gr. Pinner, England/St. Mary’s University College
Jannika John Lamar Gr. Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany/Technische München
Verity Ockenden Lamar Gr. Shaftesbury, England/Swansea University
Diana García-Muñoz Abilene Christian So. Phoenix, Arizona/Tempe H.S.

Second Team
Name School Class Hometown/High School
Courtney High Stephen F. Austin R-Fr. Inez, Texas/Vanderbilt Industrial H.S.
Samantha Ottman Stephen F. Austin So. Fort Worth, Texas/Keller Central H.S.
Brittany Innis Stephen F. Austin Fr. Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Park H.S.
Ana Moreno Sam Houston State Jr. Magnolia, Texas/Magnolia West H.S.
Evelyn Chavez Lamar Fr. Porter, Texas/Porter H.S.

Honorable Mention: Olivia Olguin, Sam Houston State; Celia Zaeringer, Southeastern Louisiana; Shelby Pesek, Stephen F. Austin; Gemma Bridge, McNeese State; Katja Woelfl, McNeese State.