Rop Settles for Sixth at Conference Championships

BEAUMONT, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana senior Henry Rop fell short of his ultimate goal, but did secure a solid sixth place finish at the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships at Bayou Din Golf Club. Having earned top ten placements the past two years, Rop was hoping to break through and bring home the title in his final season.
 
Rop covered the 8K course in 25:07.6, just over 20 seconds behind the winner, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi sophomore Patrick Kimeli (24:47.0). The native of Kapsabet, Kenya, previously took fourth place at the 2008 championship meet, followed by a ninth place conclusion in 2009.
 
“It’s pretty impressive,” head coach Sean Brady said. “Henry came to us with a very high skill set, but to be a top 10 guy for three straight years, that means he’s also working hard. Henry’s been one of our leaders throughout his tenure as a cross country student-athlete. I wanted a win for him very badly.”
 
As a team, Lamar’s men won the conference title, while Southeastern came in eighth place. Freshman Joseph LeGrangewas 39th (27:06.9) in his first Southland event. Sophomore Seth Cunningham (57th place, 27:59.7) and senior Reese Lee (59th, 28:04.0) also finished in the top 60. Freshman Paul Arthur capped his rookie season with a 62nd place performance (28:17.5).
 
The Lady Lions closed their season with a 10th place effort. SeniorNaomi Jeruto led the way, finishing 23rd individually, needing 22:47.3 to cover the 6K distance. Senior Whitney Curry was the next best Southeastern runner, taking 38th at 23:31.4. SophomoreBethany Burst (63rd place, 24:32.5), freshman Heather Fitzhenry(67th, 24:44.0) and sophomore Lindsey Toups (69th, 24:49.8) rounded out Southeastern’s top five.
 
Stephen F. Austin captured the women’s team championship. UT Arlington freshman Emily Koenig earned an individual victory, finishing in 21:30.3.
 
Rop, LeGrange and Jeruto will continue their years at the NCAA South Central Regionals, set for Nov. 13 in Waco, Texas.