Mathenge & Ottman in action at OSU Cowboy Jamboree
Stephen F. Austin Takes Both Cross Country Athlete of the Week Awards
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin seniors Charles Mathenge and Samantha Ottman were named the Southland Conference Cross Country Athletes of the Week, presented by UniversalCoin.com, the league announced Tuesday.
Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week – Charles Mathenge, Stephen F. Austin
Mathenge, a two-time NCAA championship qualifier, took a second-place individual finish with an 8K finishing time of 24:59.9 at the Oklahoma State-hosted Cowboy Jamboree. The Nairobi, Kenya native finished 26 seconds behind the 2015 NJCCA Cross Country Champion runner-up, #10 OSU’s Sylvester Barus. Mathenge paced a strong team performance for the Lumberjacks, good for a fourth-place team finish in a very strong Division I field.
Honorable Mention: Enrique Soto, McNeese; Sean Chalmers; Lamar
Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week – Samantha Ottman, Stephen F. Austin
Ottman had a strong performance of her own, finishing in front of two OSU All-Americans -- 5000m NCAA runner-up Aurora Dybedokken and 800m NCAA finalist Savannah Camacho. The Fort Worth, Texas native finished in seventh place with a 5K time of 18:35.8. The Ladyjacks placed fourth as a team along with the SFA men.
Honorable Mention: Katja Woelfl, McNeese; Jannika John, Lamar
Each school’s sports information director nominates and votes for the players of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his or her own player. To receive honorable mention, a player must receive votes from 25 percent of the Southland sports information directors
.