NATCHITOCHES -- In the final competition before the Southland Conference Championships next weekend, the Northwestern State cross country teams swept team and individual titles Friday afternoon in the Demon Invitational at the Walter Ledet Track Complex. Freshmen Karensa Ellis and Josh Crandell finished first as the women and men each ran three miles over the same course used annually for the Louisiana High School Athletic Association championships, which are upcoming Nov. 16-17. Ellis won for the third time in four meets, blowing away the women's field with a 19:07.44 time, 45 seconds ahead of Ebony Harding of Xavier. Lady Demons Sarah Emory (20:09.34), Lawana Perkins (20:30.22), Allison Fontenot (20:37.41) and Andrea Warren (20:55.92) were the next four finishers as NSU posted a near-perfect score of 19. Xavier was second at 42, trailed by East Texas Baptist (93) and Louisiana College (108). Crandell surged into the lead in the final 300 meters, outrunning Mark Dotson of Xavier while posting his first collegiate win in 16:15.30. Dotson finished seven seconds back in second place, with NSU junior Dusty Dischler third at 16:36.94. Freshman Chris Lanier was the third scorer for the Demons with a 17:20.70 time (10th overall), with teamates Cameron Mehl (17:43:07, 12th), Breshon Williams (18:01.04, 13th) and Matt Lanier (18:13.22, 13th) right behind. The Demons posted 25 points to 32 by Xavier and 75 for ETBU. Louisiana College didn't field five runners and did not score. Northwestern cross country coach Haley Blount was beaming about the sweep of team titles. "It's the first time we've done it all year so obviously I'm ecstatic. We didn't have a lot of competition on the women's side, but it was a hard-fought win for the men and their first of the season. It's a big morale booster, a lift to our confidence," said Blount. "We've been working hard to develop confidence over the past two weeks heading into the (Southland Conference) championships next weekend. We've had competition in our workouts, we had a team relay contest earlier this week, and the kids are pumped up," she said. "It's paying off." Along with finishing first, Blount said her runners reached the goals she set for them. "I wanted Andrea (Warren) to close the gap between her and our No. 4 runner, and she did it today. "We wanted all the guys to have a good race. It's only the second time this season we've had our five best out there running a good race, so I'm really proud of the way they all competed," said Blount. Due to heavy rain over the previous two days, the course was rather sloppy, resulting in slow times. "You can't really look at times considering how muddy the course was today, but you could see how hard they competed, and that makes me happy," said Blount. "Now we have to take the next step at conference." The NSU runners had several highlights, she said. "Chris Lanier had a great race today. Finishing No. 4 is incredible for him and hopefully he can add another couple of miles and do it again next week. "All of the guys had fantastic finishing kicks. If they had somebody 10-15 meters in front of them, they did everything they could to catch them. They understand that's what matters next week. It's not your time, it's how many runners you catch and pass. "I told the girls I wanted them to slow down on the first mile and then pick it up, because their pattern has been the opposite -- a fast start and a second mile that's 30-40 seconds slower. They relaxed a bit today through that first mile and they ran stronger afterward. When they came through going to mile three, Lawana, Alli and Andrea were all about 15 seconds behind a runner, and they worked the last mile hard and finished strong." Ellis has been in the top 10 of all seven meets this fall and has won twice at home, and once at Centenary. "Karensa didn't have anybody to push her today, but she was upset she didn't beat her time here last year (in the LHSAA Championships)," said Blount. "The course was so slow today, that's not a fair comparison, but she's such a competitor that she was frustrated anyway." The NSU squads line up again next Saturday in the SLC Championships at Corpus Christi, Texas. Demon Invitational Women's Results 1. Karensa Ellis Northwestern State 19:07.44 Team Scores: Men's Results 1. Josh Crandell Northwestern State 16:15.30 Team Scores: 1. Northwestern State 25 2. Xavier 32
Walter P. Ledet Track Complex
Natchitoches, LA
October 23, 2009
61⁰, Partly Cloudy
2. Ebony Harding Xavier 19:07.44
3. Sarah Emory Northwestern State 20:09.34
4. Lawana Perkins Northwestern State 20:30.22
5. Allison Fontenot Northwestern State 20:37.41
6. Andrea Warren Northwestern State 20:55.92
7. Sabrina Vargas Xavier 21:02.95
8. Anna D'Souza Xavier 21:21.77
9. Redd Williams Northwestern State 21:38.07
10. Courtney Hershberger Northwestern State 21:49.91
11. Becca Meehan Northwestern State 22:04.55
12. Brianna Dkine Xavier 22:31.43
13. Ashley Taylor Xavier 22:31.43
14. Sara Gray East Texas Baptist 22:34.78
15. Jennifer Garcia Xavier 22:59.55
16. Stephanie Baer Louisiana College 23:09.38
17. Kara Beall East Texas Baptist 23:39.21
18. Stacey Windon Xavier 23:53.24
19. Amanda Bell East Texas Baptist 24:05.47
20. Rachel Quarles Louisiana College 24:50.03
21. Cameron Christy East Texas Baptist 25:58.20
22. Casey Lantz East Texas Baptist 26:27.58
23. Collette Keith unattached 26:54.34
24. Kristi Grubbs Louisiana College 28:03.88
25. Margie McBride Louisiana College 28:06.53
26. Hannah Lanier Louisiana College 28:49.38
27. Ashley Dufrene Louisiana College no time
1. Northwestern State 19
2. Xavier 42
3. East Texas Baptist 93
4. Louisiana College 108
2. Mark Dotson Xavier 16:22.25
3. Dusty Dischler Northwestern State 16:36.94
4. David Jones unattached 16:41.50
5. Kyle Lessig Northwestern State 16:42.36
6. Ray Walston Xavier 16:46.54
7. Darren Wallace Xavier 16:54.51
8. Matt Pieri Xavier 17:03.68
9. Devin Caldwell unattached 17:09.68
10. Chris Lanier Northwestern State 17:20.70
11. Corey Williams unattached 17:39.75
12. Cameron Mehl Northwestern State 17:43.07
13. Breshon Williams Northwestern State 18:01.04
14. Matt Lanier Northwestern State 18:13.22
15. Bryan Khan Xavier 18:14.95
16. unknown 18:35.90
17. Nick Darby unattached 18:36.87
18. Jesse Rosier Louisiana College 18:58.71
19. Casey Morris East Texas Baptist 19:09.82
20. Mitch Barton East Texas Baptist 19:38.67
21. Jacob Turnipseed East Texas Baptist 20:07.69
22. Jaron Joseph East Texas Baptist 21:04.96
23. Brian Verrett Louisiana College 21:04.97
24. David Thomas Louisiana College 21:15.20
25. RJ Prince East Texas Baptist 12:44.69
26. Jeff Martin East Texas Baptist 12:48.55
27. Michael Akers East Texas Baptist 24:54.28
28. John Lombard Louisiana College 26:31.01