Kinyanjui, Stewart earn individual spots in NCAA Cross Country Championship with strong regional finishes

Mary Kinyanjui

Several Conference USA cross country teams posted strong performances at various NCAA Regional meets over the weekend. The TCU women and Houston men turned in the best finishes with fourth-place showings, respectively. A pair of TCU runners and USF's Christa Benton also advanced as individuals to the NCAA Championships to be held on Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.

Senior Mary Kinyanjui, the reigning two-time C-USA champion, defended her individual crown at the South Central Region in Waco Texas, blistering the 6K course in a personal-best time of 20:09. Sophomore Calandra Stewart also earned a berth in the NCAA meet after placing among the top four individuals not on an already-qualified team. Stewart placed ninth and both runners earned All-South Central Region honors.

For the Houston men, a trio of runners earned All-South Central Region honors after leading the Cougars to a fourth-place finish. Sesar Figueroa (19th), Tyler Stanfield (20th) and Derek Yorek (23rd) each finished inside the Top 25 to earn the honors. The Houston women took 12th at the regional, while the TCU men finished 14th. A trio of Tulane women runners competed in Waco as each turned in personal-best times. The Green Wave did not score in the meet.

Only the top two teams and top four individuals, whose team did not earn an automatic berth, secured spots in the NCAA Championships. There will also be 13 at-large teams who make the championships based on their finish at respective regionals.

The Marquette women made a case for one of those at-large bids with a fifth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional in Ypsilanti, Mich. The Golden Eagles men’s team took 16th at the regional. Junior Jodi Jakubek, a three-time All C-USA runner, placed 19th to pick up All-Great Lakes Region honors. Both Cincinnati squads raced in Ypsilanti, with the men finishing 14th and the women 16th. Senior Ruth Limo earned All-Region honors for the women with a 21st-place finish.

At the Midwest Regional in Peoria, Ill., a pair of DePaul runners captured All-Region honors as Erin Moffett and Leah Rygh led the Blue Demons to a 13th-place team finish. Moffett placed 11th overall in 21:02.79, while Rygh followed in 14th place with a time of 21:06.77. The Blue Demon men took 15th in the team competition. The Saint Louis men’s team placed 21st and the Billiken women finished 26th in Peoria.

At the South Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the UAB women were paced by C-USA Freshman of the Year Elizabeth Hilligoss as the Blazers finished ninth in the team competition. Hilligoss earned All-South Region honors with a 23rd-place finish in the 6K race. The Southern Miss women and Memphis women also competed in Tuscaloosa finishing 13th and 18th, respectively in the team standings.

Both the USF men’s and women’s teams competed in the South Region, with the Bulls finishing just in front of UAB on the women’s side in eighth place, while the men took 18th. Benton ran her best race of the season placing sixth overall, while teammate Bente General also earned All-Region honors with a 20th-place finish. Benton earned an at-large spot at the NCAA Championships.

East Carolina hosted the Southeast Regional where C-USA foes Charlotte and Louisville each landed a runner on the All-Region squad in the men’s competition. Charlotte senior Ed Schichter, who placed 21st, finished one spot in front of Cardinal sophomore Nuran Sheikh. The Charlotte men took eighth in the team standings, Louisville was 10th and East Carolina placed 17th. In the women’s race in Greenville, Charlotte finished 13th, while the host Pirates took 21st.