Lamar Men, Abilene Christian Women Win 2017 Cross Country Championships

Lamar Men, Abilene Christian Women Win 2017 Cross Country Championships

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Southland Conference

Combined Final Results (PDF) | Highlights

ABILENE, Texas – Cold, wind, rain, sleet. Mother Nature threw everything she had at the 2017 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships but the conference competitors brought the heat to Abilene on Friday with Lamar men and Abilene Christian women earning team titles.
  
The Cardinal men continued their dominance in Southland cross country, winning their fifth-straight title, 16th overall and 11th in the last 12 years. ACU women, behind the dominating performance of twins Alexandria and Michaela Hackett, won their second team championship in three years.

In addition, individual superlatives for Athlete of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards were given to the top individual finishers in those categories, as well as Coach of the Year honors to the winning teams’ distance coaches. First Team All-Conference awards went to the top five finishers in each race while Second Team All-Conference honors went to sixth-place through 10th-place finishers.

Lamar needed every inch to take home the team title, finishing deadlocked with McNeese at 42 points when all was said and done. The Cardinals’ standout junior Jamie Crowe proved the difference maker, breaking the tie with his top individual performance. For his efforts, he was named Athlete of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Conference to pace Lamar to the team title.
 
Crowe finished with an 8K time of 24:29.1, followed by a pair of McNeese seniors, Nathan Jones (24:33.8) and Enrique Soto (24:42.9). UIW men also earned top-five finishes with junior Garrett Cortez taking fourth place (24:50.1) and Deion Hardy finishing fifth (24:53.7).
 
The Hackett twins left no doubt as to who the top two finishers would be on the women’s side, jumping out to a commanding lead from the onset of the race and never looking back. Alexandria edged her sister by just over three seconds, clocking a 6K time of 20:27.8 to win Athlete of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors. Michaela finished just behind in 20:31.1. Fellow Wildcat Diana Garcia Munoz took third with a time of 21:07.4. A pair of McNeese runners, Katja Woelfl (21:17.0) and Gladys Jerotich (21:24.0) took fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
Jerotich, a junior transfer from UTEP, was the top newcomer finisher, earning Newcomer of the Year distinction along with her First Team All-Conference honors for a top-five finish.
 
On the men’s side, McNeese’s runner-up finish was followed by UIW with 99 team points, Central Arkansas with 122 and Stephen F. Austin with 137 to round out the top five. Sam Houston State, Abilene Christian, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Southeastern Louisiana and Houston Baptist finished sixth through 10th. Northwestern State, New Orleans and Nicholls finished 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively.
 
Abilene Christian’s winning 44-point team tally was followed by Lamar with 73 points and McNeese with 80. A&M-Corpus Christi finished fourth with 91 points and Stephen F. Austin fifth with 103. UIW, Central Arkansas, Sam Houston State, Houston Baptist and Southeastern Louisiana rounded out the top 10 while Northwestern State, Nicholls and New Orleans finished out the women’s team finishes.
 
For those athletes who qualify, the NCAA South Central Regional qualifying race will take place on Friday, Nov. 10 in College Station, Texas, hosted by Texas A&M. The 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships will take place at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, Nov. 18.
 
The 2018 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships will be hosted by McNeese in Lake Charles, La.
 
Men’s Final Team Standings
Team Points Scoring Finishes
  1. Lamar
 42 1-7-8-11-15
  1. McNeese
 42 2-3-9-12-16
  1. UIW
 99 4-5-19-35-36
  1. Central Arkansas
 122 14-17-25-29-37
  1. Stephen F. Austin
 137 20-26-27-31-33
  1. Sam Houston State
 141 13-18-24-30-56
  1. Abilene Christian
 172 10-21-28-55-58
  1. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
 245 32-39-40-66-68
  1. Southeastern Louisiana
 247 43-44-45-53-62
  1. Houston Baptist
 252 38-41-47-57-69
  1. Northwestern State
 270 6-54-61-73-76
  1. New Orleans
 340 51-63-71-75-80
  1. Nicholls
 412 78-81-82-85-86
 
Women’s Final Team Standings
Team Points Scoring Finishes
  1. Abilene Christian
 44 1-2-3-6-32
  1. Lamar
 73 8-11-13-14-27
  1. McNeese
 80 4-5-22-23-26
  1. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
 91 7-15-18-20-31
  1. Stephen F. Austin
 103 9-10-19-30-35
  1. UIW
 112 16-17-21-25-33
  1. Central Arkansas
 161 12-24-36-41-48
  1. Sam Houston State
 244 28-38-53-60-65
  1. Houston Baptist
 294 40-56-61-66-71
  1. Southeastern Louisiana
 297 43-47-50-78-79
  1. Northwestern State
 310 57-59-62-63-69
  1. Nicholls
 357 64-67-70-75-81
  1. New Orleans
 405 76-80-82-83-84
 
Men’s Individual Superlatives
 
Athlete of the Year: Jamie Crowe, Lamar
Freshman of the Year: Brian Flanagan, McNeese
Newcomer of the Year: Jamie Crowe, Lamar
Coach of the Year: Tony Houchin, Lamar
 
Men’s All-Conference Teams
 
First Team
  1. Jamie Crowe
 Lamar 24:29.1
  1. Nathan Jones
 McNeese 24:33.8
  1. Enrique Soto
 McNeese 24:42.9
  1. Garrett Cortez
 UIW 24:50.1
  1. Deion Hardy
 UIW 24:53.7
 
Second Team
  1. Joshua Wilkins
 Northwestern State 24:56.4
  1. Cormac Kelly
 Lamar 24:56.6
  1. Matthew Arnold
 Lamar 24:59.0
  1. Oliver James
 McNeese 24:59.3
  1. Ryan Cleary
 Abilene Christian 25:05.7
 
Women’s Individual Superlatives
 
Athlete of the Year: Alexandria Hackett, Abilene Christian
Freshman of the Year: Katy Whiteoak, Lamar
Newcomer of the Year: Gladys Jerotich, McNeese
Coach of the Year: Jarvis Jelen, Abilene Christian
 
Women’s All-Conference Teams

First Team
  1. Alexandria Hackett
 Abilene Christian 20:27.8
  1. Michaela Hackett
 Abilene Christian 20:31.1
  1. Diana Garcia-Munoz
 Abilene Christian 21:07.4
  1. Katja Woelfl
 McNeese 21:17.0
  1. Gladys Jerotich
 McNeese 21:24.0

Second Team
  1. Carnley Graham
 Abilene Christian 21:25.3
  1. Allyson Girard
 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 21:34.9
  1. Evelyn Chavez
 Lamar 21:38.1
  1. Brittany Innis
 Stephen F. Austin 21:39.1
  1. Taryn Surratt
 Stephen F. Austin 21:42.0