SMU Women Captures 2008 C-USA Cross Country Championship Title
Nov. 1, 2008
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After finishing in third-place the last three seasons, the 26th-ranked SMU Mustangs captured their first Conference USA Women's Cross Country title Saturday at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis, Tenn. The Mustangs were led by individual medalist Silje Fjortoft who clocked a 5K course record time of 16:46 as the team scored 40 points. 2008 C-USA MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS 2008 C-USA WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS The 16th-ranked Tulsa men bettered it second-place showing from the last two years with its first C-USA championship title since joining the league in 2005. The Golden Hurricane was led by individual medalist John Beattie's 8K time of 23:30. The junior outkicked UTEP's Japheth Ngo'joy down the stretch to become the first non-Miner individual champion since 2005. Tulsa also claimed four of the seven All-C-USA first team honors as Eddie Henshaw finished fifth (24:04), Kyle Dekker placed sixth (24:22) and Lewis Timmins was seventh (24:28). "I thought we ran a really good race, said Tulsa head coach Steve Gulley "We knew to win a conference championship we had to go directly through UTEP. They have had a strong hold on the conference and we just didn't know if there would be enough runners to help to displace some kids. The respect that the kids have for UTEP really motivated our team because we knew it would be a great accomplishment to beat UTEP." All seven SMU runners earned all-conference accolades as Fjortoft and senior Rachel Forish picked up first team merits. Forish finished sixth with a time of 17:24, while Monika Korra (17:39), Claire Hardwick (17:41) and Jessa Simmons (17:42) earned second team honors with 10-12th place times, respectively. Sierra Anderson (18:15) and Ilyssa Pettigrew (18:18) were honored with third-time merits after placing 17th and 20th overall.
"I was just so proud of the girls," said Cathy Casey, SMU's cross country coach. "Everybody just really stepped up from where they were. We really came together as a team. Every single runner went out there and ran their heart out. It was time that we all came together, not just one person, but the entire team." Finishing in second-place for the women was defending champion and 20th-ranked Rice. The Owls scored 50 points after Nicole Mericle (17:08), Lennie Waite (17:18) and Allison Pye (17:21) cross consecutively with third, fourth, and fifth-place finishes. Tulsa racked up 77 points for third-place honors while Alex Becker won the Outstanding Senior Award with a second-place time of 17:03. Outstanding Freshman of the Year accolades went to Houston's Stephanie Aldea who was the top finishing rookie with a time of 17:38. UAB repeated its fourth place showings from a year ago with 116 points, followed by Houston (145), East Carolina (117), UTEP (182), and UCF (198), Tulane (209), Marshall (270), Southern Miss (344) and Memphis (357) rounded out the bottom four. The three-time C-USA team champion UTEP Miners saw its streak end Saturday but placed all five runners among the Top 12 finishers. Ngo'joy (23:31), Patrick Mutai (23:45) and Nicodemus Ngetich (23:53) claimed three of the top four spots for All-C-USA first team accolades. Ngo'joy second-place finish earned him Outstanding Senior of the Year honors. Freshman of the Year merits went to East Carolina's Zack Montijo. Montijo was also named to the All-C-USA second team after finishing 13th with a time of 25:14. Head coach Steve Gulley was named the men's Coach of the Year, while SMU's Cathy Casey was voted the women's Coach of the Year. Rice men came in third-place before all-conference performances by its top-five scorers. Leading the Owls were All-C-USA first teamers Aaron Robson (25:07) and Simon Bucknell (25:30) who placed 11th and 16th overall, respectively. Marshall came in fourth (114), while East Carolina (145), Houston (156), Memphis (175) and Tulane (235) rounded out the men's results. Numerous C-USA teams will be competing in the upcoming NCAA Regionals on Nov. 15, followed by the NCAA Championship on Nov. 24. 2008 C-USA WOMEN'S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS 2008 C-USA MEN'S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS 2008 Women's Cross Country All-Conference Teams Second Team Third Team 2008 Men's Cross Country All-Conference Teams Second First Team Third Team |
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