Marquette captured its fifth straight team title in the women’s race, while Houston won its first-ever team title in a much tighter men’s race at the Conference USA Cross Country Championship Saturday at the Palos Hills (Ill.) Forest Preserve.

TCU senior Mary Kinyanjui overcame wind gusts of up to 30-40 miles per hour throughout the women’s race to become just the second female in league history to win back-to-back individual titles. She covered the hilly 6K course in a time of 21:16. Memphis junior Mate Nemeth won the men’s race in similar windy conditions with a late charge finishing the 8K course in 24:47. Nemeth is the first Tiger to win the individual title at the C-USA Championship.

Marquette won the women’s race by a 27-point margin over second-place finisher TCU (93), while the Houston men (73) held off second-place finisher Charlotte (79) by just five points and third-place finisher Louisville (82) by nine. UAB (101) finished third on the women’s side giving the Blazers their highest-finish ever at the league championship.

Golden Eagle junior Jodi Jakubek finished second overall in 21:24 to pick up her third-consecutive All-Conference USA honors. Sophomore Heidi Lindeman (7th, 22:03) and junior Susie Emond (14th, 22:18) also earned all-league honors for Marquette. UAB sophomore Elizabeth Ambrus posted the Blazers’ top individual finish placing third in 21:25.

The Marquette women have now won seven of the league’s 10 championships. “Every year it feels different,” Marquette head coach Dave Uhrich said. “It’s always our goal to win the C-USA Championship. The weather slowed down our times, but the girls each ran a smart race.”

Houston junior Tyler Stanfield was just five seconds behind (24:52) Nemeth to finish second overall and lead a trio of Cougars who finished inside the top 12 to earn All C-USA honors. “It was a great, tough race,” Houston head coach Theresa Fuqua said. “I’m beyond excited. This bunch of guys put a lot of effort into the season and deserved to win the championship.”

Sophomore Derek Yorek claimed sixth (25:12) and Cougar teammate Sesar Figueroa (25:25) placed 12th to help Houston win the team title. Marquette junior Brent Des Roches earned his third-consecutive all-league honor with a third-place finish (24:53), while last year’s men’s individual champion Kyle MacKenzie of East Carolina finished fifth (25:07). He also has earned three-straight all-league honors.

Championship host DePaul finished fifth on the women’s side, which was the best improvement from last season in the women’s competition. DePaul seniors Leah Rygh and Erin Moffett earned first-team All C-USA honors after placing fourth (21:41) and fifth (21:47), respectively. The Blue Demon men took seventh.

On the men’s side, Charlotte made the biggest improvement from last season, moving up 10 spots from their 12th-place finish in 2003.

2004 Women’s 6K Results:
1. Marquette (66), 2. TCU (93), 3. UAB (101), 4. USF (125), 5. DePaul (137), 6. Cincinnati (152), 7. Charlotte (161), 8. Southern Miss (191), 9. East Carolina (234), 10. Houston (238), 11. Memphis (270), 12. Tulane (274), 13. Saint Louis (381), 14. Louisville (400).

2004 Men’s 8K Results:
1. Houston (73), 2. Charlotte (79), 3. Louisville (82), 4. Cincinnati (94), 5. East Carolina (112), 6. Marquette (132), 7. DePaul (154), 8. TCU (244), 9. Tulane (249), 10. USF (254), 11. Memphis (262), 12. Saint Louis (289).

2004 Conference USA Cross Country Awards

WOMEN’S AWARDS

Individual Champion:
Mary Kinyanjui, TCU

First Team All-Conference
Mary Kinyanjui, TCU
Jodi Jakubek, Marquette
Elizabeth Ambrus, UAB
Leah Rygh, DePaul
Erin Moffett, DePaul

Second Team All-Conference
Christa Benton, USF
Heidi Lindeman, Marquette
Calandra Stewart, TCU
Elizabeth Hilligos, UAB
Tsehaye Dagnachew, Charlotte

Third Team All-Conference
Jessica Hellender, USF
Ruth Limo, Cincinnati
Bente General, USF
Susie Emond, Marquette
Jane Daniels, Charlotte

Freshman of the Year
Elizabeth Hilligos, UAB

Coach of the Year
Dave Uhrich, Marquette

MEN’S AWARDS

Individual Champion:
Mate Nemeth, Memphis

First Team All-Conference
Mate Nemeth, Memphis
Tyler Stanfield, Houston
Brent Des Roches, Marquette
Nurani Sheikh, Louisville
Kyle MacKenzie, East Carolina

Second Team All-Conference
Derek Yorek, Houston
Wesley Korir, Louisville
Eric Bair, Cincinnati
Ed Schlichter, Charlotte
Richie Byrne, DePaul

Third Team All-Conference
Tim Kaiser, Louisville
Sesar Figueroa, Houston
Nick Sunseri, Charlotte
Matt Hanlon, East Carolina
Jamil Mahaimin, Charlotte

Freshman of the Year
Wesley Korir, Louisville

Coach of the Year
Theresa Fuqua, Houston

Women's Results

DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
                     C-USA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
                        SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2004
          BULLFROG LAKE, PALOS HILLS FOREST PRESERVE, CHICAGO IL
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


  1.    66  Marquette                                   (22:13  111:02)
==========================================================
  1      2   115 Jodi Jakubek                   21:24
  2      7   116 Heidi Lindeman                 22:03
  3     14   113 Susie Emond                    22:18
  4     20   118 Alli Sauer                     22:35
  5     23   114 Terri Emond                    22:42
  6   ( 25)  119 Michaela Courtney              22:51
  7   ( 33)  117 Cassie Peller                  23:29


  2.    93  TCU                                         (22:31  112:32)
==========================================================
  1      1   181 Mary Kinyanjui                 21:16
  2      8   182 Calandra Stewart               22:04
  3     21   183 Halie Bullin                   22:37
  4     26   184 Cassie Hostick                 22:59
  5     37   185 Katrina Zielinski              23:36
  6   ( 62)  186 McKale Davis                   24:37
  7   ( 75)  187 Elese Dawson                   25:13


  3.   101  UAB                                         (22:39  113:11)
==========================================================
  1      3   217 Elizabeth Ambrus               21:25
  2      9   218 Elizabeth Hilligos             22:05
  3     27   222 Whitney Mays                   23:00
  4     30   219 Jennifer Thompson              23:14
  5     32   221 Ryanne Fortney                 23:27
  6   ( 38)  220 Petra Ivanova                  23:37
  7   ( 47)  223 Genoah Collins                 23:56


  4.   125  USF                                         (22:52  114:18)
==========================================================
  1      6   229 Christa Benton                 21:49
  2     11   230 Jessica Hellender              22:07
  3     13   228 Bente General                  22:17
  4     41   231 Kristen Poulos                 23:47
  5     54   233 Sara Hall                      24:18
  6   ( 69)  234 Lisa Giblin                    24:56
  7   ( 72)  232 Maressa Pinzini                25:00


  5.   137  DePaul                                      (22:58  114:46)
==========================================================
  1      4    47 Leah Rygh                      21:41
  2      5    46 Erin Moffett                   21:47
  3     24    43 Marlene Key                    22:47
  4     51    45 Carrie Moffett                 24:13
  5     53    41 Olivia Conlon                  24:18
  6   ( 63)   48 Emily Prettyman                24:39
  7   ( 85)   42 Kelly Cunningham               26:03


  6.   152  Cincinnati                                  (23:11  115:53)
==========================================================
  1     12    26 Ruth Limo                      22:09
  2     28    20 Cristy Doll                    23:03
  3     29    19 Karen Berling                  23:11
  4     40    24 Jennifer Hannen                23:39
  5     43    21 Tanya Gauvin                   23:51
  6   ( 48)   23 Abi Hamrick                    23:58
  7   ( 61)   22 Jocelyn Gibson                 24:35


  7.   161  Charlotte                                   (23:16  116:18)
==========================================================
  1     10     2 Tsehaye Dagnachew              22:07
  2     15     1 Jane Daniels                   22:19
  3     36     7 Liz Smith                      23:35
  4     44     3 Amelia Slagle                  23:54
  5     56     5 Candance Hitchcock             24:23
  6   ( 64)    6 Summer Graham                  24:40
  7   ( 67)    8 Laura Syracuse                 24:50


  8.   191  Southern Miss                               (23:35  117:54)
==========================================================
  1     18   171 Cassandra Goodson              22:28
  2     31   173 Dijana Kojkic                  23:19
  3     35   175 Becca Rop                      23:32
  4     52   176 Karen Tankersley               24:15
  5     55   170 Alisha Edwards                 24:20
  6   ( 65)  174 Rachel Nix                     24:43
  7   ( 74)  172 Naomi Kiprotich                25:09


  9.   234  East Carolina                               (23:52  119:16)
==========================================================
  1     16    59 Johanna Allen                  22:19
  2     19    60 Jessica Collins                22:30
  3     50    61 Caitlin Littlefield            24:06
  4     73    62 Rebekah Bishop                 25:05
  5     76    63 Megan Walling                  25:16
  6   ( 78)   64 Lynn Taylor                    25:21
  7   ( 79)   65 Hayley Flynn                   25:29


 10.   238  Houston                                     (24:02  120:07)
==========================================================
  1     34    82 Jessica Oakes                  23:30
  2     39    83 Veronica Ramirez               23:38
  3     45    80 Oumama Hallal                  23:56
  4     49    78 Shawna Florida                 24:04
  5     71    81 Laura Harlett                  24:59
  6   ( 77)   79 Adriane Guinn                  25:16


 11.   270  Memphis                                     (24:15  121:14)
==========================================================
  1     17   139 Daniele Riendeau               22:27
  2     58   136 Becca McMahon                  24:31
  3     59   134 Mary Claire Dake               24:31
  4     66   135 Sarah Janecek                  24:48
  5     70   138 Nora Nemere                    24:57
  6   ( 90)  137 Kimberly McVeigh               26:51
  7   ( 91)  140 Heather Woolls                 26:54


 12.   274  Tulane                                      (24:24  121:56)
==========================================================
  1     22   204 Rachel Bryan                   22:38
  2     42   207 Aubrey Phillips                23:49
  3     46   205 Lisa Green                     23:56
  4     80   203 Sarah Bumby                    25:30
  5     84   208 Ashley Porter                  26:03
  6   ( 92)  209 Savannah Moon                  27:22


 13.   381  Saint Louis                                 (25:30  127:29)
==========================================================
  1     57   156 Anissa Reynolds                24:30
  2     68   159 Emily Zimmerman                24:56
  3     82   151 Jamie Branham                  25:46
  4     86   152 Reilly DeSantis                26:03
  5     88   154 Molly Oliver                   26:14
  6   ( 93)  158 Abbie Sumrall                  27:26
  7   ( 94)  155 Jenny Rancour                  27:57


 14.   400  Louisville                                  (25:45  128:44)
==========================================================
  1     60    98 Ashley Ruberg                  24:31
  2     81    97 Corryn McCrae                  25:33
  3     83   100 Lauren Baldwin                 25:49
  4     87   101 Jessica Faulkenberg            26:12
  5     89    99 Holly Geers                    26:39

DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
                     C-USA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
                        SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2004
          BULLFROG LAKE, PALOS HILLS FOREST PRESERVE, CHICAGO IL


  1.    73  Houston                                     (25:32  127:37)
==========================================================
  1      2    91 Tyler Stanfield                24:52
  2      6    93 Derek Yorek                    25:12
  3     12    88 Sesar Figueroa                 25:25
  4     25    92 Alex Winstel                   26:00
  5     28    87 Cole Dailey                    26:08
  6   ( 47)   89 Chris McKinstry                27:08
  7   ( 50)   90 Maurilio Sanchez               27:14


  2.    79  Charlotte                                   (25:36  127:56)
==========================================================
  1      9    11 Ed Schlichter                  25:14
  2     13    14 Nick Sunseri                   25:26
  3     15    15 Jamil Mahaimin                 25:28
  4     20    17 Matt Hipps                     25:52
  5     22    13 Russell Slade                  25:56
  6   ( 23)   12 Ken Simeone                    25:59
  7   ( 63)   16 Ryan Jank                      28:07


  3.    82  Louisville                                  (25:37  128:04)
==========================================================
  1      4   104 Nurani Sheikh                  24:57
  2      7   103 Wesley Korir                   25:12
  3     11   106 Tim Kaiser                     25:25
  4     29   105 Wes Seacat                     26:14
  5     31   107 Brian Hurst                    26:16
  6   ( 38)  108 Kyle Bowling                   26:39


  4.    94  Cincinnati                                  (25:45  128:43)
==========================================================
  1      8    31 Eric Bair                      25:13
  2     16    39 Andy Wietmarschen              25:36
  3     19    33 Taylor Garvin                  25:48
  4     24    38 Mike Smith                     25:59
  5     27    37 Kevin Schwarz                  26:07
  6   ( 35)   32 Kyle Dragan                    26:27


  5.   112  East Carolina                               (25:55  129:33)
==========================================================
  1      5    68 Kyle MacKenzie                 25:07
  2     14    69 Matt Hanlon                    25:27
  3     21    70 Craig Schmidt                  25:54
  4     33    73 Kristian Jorgensen             26:25
  5     39    71 John Loehr                     26:40
  6   ( 44)   72 Stephen Tausend                26:56
  7   ( 54)   74 Matt Gorman                    27:30


  6.   132  Marquette                                   (26:07  130:31)
==========================================================
  1      3   124 Brent Des Roches               24:53
  2     18   123 Jason Crichton                 25:42
  3     26   129 Jeremy Williams                26:04
  4     32   125 David Henderson                26:23
  5     53   126 Andy Lelinski                  27:29
  6   ( 59)  132 Matt Scott                     27:51
  7   ( 73)  128 Tommy Schmitz                  28:52


  7.   154  DePaul                                      (26:22  131:50)
==========================================================
  1     10    52 Richie Byrne                   25:24
  2     17    51 Anthony Becknek                25:41
  3     30    54 Gavin Kennedy                  26:14
  4     36    57 Donnie Warner                  26:31
  5     61    55 Clayton Smith                  28:00
  6   ( 64)   53 Dan Graca                      28:14


  8.   244  TCU                                         (27:15  136:14)
==========================================================
  1     40   193 Alex Morris                    26:48
  2     45   195 J.T. Reinert                   27:01
  3     48   199 Steve Lenney                   27:10
  4     51   192 Matt Manly                     27:16
  5     60   196 David Harris                   27:59
  6   ( 69)  197 Brett McKnight                 28:31
  7   ( 71)  194 Johnathan Bundren              28:43


  9.   249  Tulane                                      (27:19  136:35)
==========================================================
  1     34   210 Phillip Aagaard                26:26
  2     46   213 Kevin Martes                   27:06
  3     49   211 Tyler Chapman                  27:10
  4     55   215 Dave Posnick                   27:31
  5     65   214 Mike Moore                     28:22
  6   ( 68)  212 Brett Guy                      28:30


 10.   254  USF                                         (27:20  136:40)
==========================================================
  1     41   242 Ryan Thomas                    26:49
  2     43   240 Derek Lincoln                  26:51
  3     52   238 Andrew Charles                 27:27
  4     56   239 Brandon Dahlem                 27:31
  5     62   241 Ryan Tims                      28:02
  6   ( 74)  243 Nick Ferrer                    28:58


 11.   262  Memphis                                     (30:47  153:53)
==========================================================
  1      1   143 Mate Nemeth                    24:47
  2     42   145 Mike Mentz                     26:50
  3     66   148 Abraham Shapohnik              28:24
  4     76   144 Gergely Nemeth                 36:56
  5     77   146 Jason Morgan                   36:56


 12.   289  Saint Louis                                 (27:46  138:50)
==========================================================
  1     37   166 Joe Porter                     26:35
  2     57   163 Dan Herman                     27:31
  3     58   165 Paul Lemon                     27:44
  4     67   164 Matt Greulich                  28:25
  5     70   168 Matt Stuber                    28:35
  6   ( 72)  162 Tim Hamilton                   28:46
  7   ( 75)  167 Travis Stephens                30:18