MCNEESE Press Release:
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
BEAUMONT – McNeese men's cross country team made it a clean sweep at Friday's Southland Conference Champions as David Rooney set a meet
record with a 23:33.5 clocking in the 8k race to lead the Cowboys to a team title with a school record 25 points.
The league title is the eighth for the Cowboys' squad in school history and first since the 2000 season while the 25 points are the fifth best score in Southland meet history and the lowest since Lamar scored 23 points at the 1982 meet.
Alex Bruce-Littlewood finished second overall with a time of 24:01.0 and Jarrett LeBlanccompleted the trifecta with a third place time of 24:04.7.
Rooney became the first McNeese runner to win the individual championship since Tom McGrath won it in 1988. His record time was 21 seconds faster than the previous record that was set by Lamar's Francis Kasagule at the 2009 meet.
“First of all, this was a great team effort,” said Rooney. “Everyone worked so hard for this and we all ran very well. Personally, I'm excited to have won the individual championship and break the record. But this doesn't end our season. We have to go to work and get ready for the regionals and then the nationals.”
Rooney shot out of the gate and surged to the front of the pack at the sound of the gun and led pretty much the entire race. He and about six other runners began to pull away from the pack early in the race and at about the 4k mark, he had built a substantial lead.
Meanwhile, Bruce-Littlewood and LeBlanc kept their pace and made their move around the 6k mark to surge past Lamar's Matt Johnsen and Corpus Christi's Patrick Kimeli.
“The guys came here on a mission and got the job done,” said head coach Brendon Gilroy who celebrates his first conference championship as the team's skipper. “Everyone ran extremely well. We're going to enjoy this for a little bit but then get back to work and get ready for two more meets.”
Alex Kiptoo ran a 24:32.8 to finish ninth and Daniel Cliffe was 10th with a 24:32.9 to give the Cowboys five finishers in the top 10. Alex Evans finished just outside the bunch with an 11th place showing and a time of 24:40.3 while Stephen Kerr wrapped up McNeese's scoring with a 21st place finish and a time of 25:09.8.
Lamar, the 6-time defending conference champion, finished second in the team scoring with 66 points followed by Stephen F. Austin with 80 for third place.
On the women's side, McNeese ran without its top runner in Fionnuala Ross due to an illness and midway through the 6k race, the team's No. 2 runner in Amy Talbot dropped out due to a foot injury. Yet the Cowgirls still managed to finish in sixth place.
“I thought the girls ran a good race,” said Gilroy. “With us not having Finnoula and then Amy getting hurt, and for us to still finish sixth and just a few points out of fifth, that tells you the type of competitors we have on this team.”
Stephen F. Austin edged out Sam Houston State by two points with a team total of 56 to win the title while Lamar finished third with a score of 82.
SFA's Lauren Smith defending the individual title she won last year with her second consecutive championship on Friday after she ran 20:59.1. McNeese's Allison Crawford was the first Cowgirl to cross the finish line with a time of 22:32.7 and an 18thplace showing.
Lauren Cooper finished in 28th place with a 23:04.4 and was closely followed by Corissa Storms in 29th place with a 23:07.7. Other Cowgirl scorers had Angelina Covington in 33rd with a 23:18.0, Sarah Van Horn in 40th with a 23:40.2 and Laura Casey in 42nd with a 23:51.4.
2012 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships
Men's Team Scoring
1, McNeese 25; 2, Lamar 66; 3, Stephen F. Austin 80; 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 90; 5, Central Arkansas 130; 6, Sam Houston State 165; 7, Oral Roberts 231; 8, Northwestern State 240; 9, Southeastern Louisiana 243
Men's Individual Top 10
1, David Rooney, McN, 23:33.5; 2, Alex Bruce-Littlewood, McN, 24:01.0; 3, Jarrett LeBlanc, McN 24:04.7; 4, Patrick Kimeli, TAMUCC, 24:10.6; 5, Matt Johnsen, LU, 24:11.4; 6, Xavier Rodriguez, SFA, 24:13.1; 7, Benjamin Gerber, UCA, 24:14.7; 8, Edward Limo, UCA, 24:24.1; 9, Alex Kiptoo, McN, 24:32.8; 10, Daniel Cliffe, McN, 24:32.9.
Women's Team Scoring
1, Stephen F. Austin 56; 2, Sam Houston State 58; 3, Lamar 80; 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 82; 5, Central Arkansas 120; 6, McNeese 148; 7, Nicholls State 173; 8, Oral Roberts 204; 9, Northwestern State 206; 10, Southeastern Louisiana 265
Women's Individual Top 10
1, Lauren Smith, SFA, 20:59.1; 2, Alyssa Dooley, SHSU, 21:07.6; 3, Randi Plentl, SFA, 21:28.0; 4, BreAnna Briggs, TAMUCC, 21:29.1; 5, Tessni Carruthers, NICH, 21:41.8; 6, Claire Miles, LU, 21:56.8; 7, Solenn Riou, SHSU, 21:57.7; 8, Ana Moreno, SHSU, 21:58.6; 9, Samantha Watson, ORU, 21:59.8; 10, Celilia Gonzalez, TAMUCC, 22:06.0.
SLU Press Release:
Five Lions Turn In Season-Best Effort At Southland Championships
BEAUMONT, Texas – Five members of the Southeastern Louisiana University cross country team turned in a season-best performance Friday at the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships.
Despite the extraordinary effort it was not enough to overcome eventual champions McNeese State (men's) and Stephen F. Austin (women's).
Joseph LeGrange was the leading runner for the men, finishing 43rd with a time of 26:13.3 in the eight-kilometer race. The rest of Southeastern's top-five runners included Matt Mouton (26:35.9), Harry Wiggins (26:43.4), Paul Arthur (27:52.6) and Joseph Edwards (28:24.7).
Bethany Burst turned in the best Lady Lion performance, finishing 51st with a time of 24:54.0 in the six-kilometer race. The other top runners for the Southeastern women included Ashley Pfantz (24:58.7), Heather Fitzhenry (25:06.9), Lindsey Toups (25:11.0) and Leticia Shaban (25:11.9).
LeGrange, Mouton, Wiggins, Edwards and Scott Richardson (33:31.2) turned in their best efforts of the season for the Lions.
Event - Men 8k Run CC
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Name Year School Finals
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Results - Men
43 Joseph LeGrange JR Southeastern Louisiana 26:13.3
49 Matt Mouton JR Southeastern Louisiana 26:35.9
53 Harry Wiggins FR Southeastern Louisiana 26:43.4
59 Paul Arthur JR Southeastern Louisiana 27:52.6
61 Joseph Edwards FR Southeastern Louisiana 28:24.7
69 Kyle Rudolph FR Southeastern Louisiana 29:41.3
70 Tyler Waggenspack SO Southeastern Louisiana 30:49.8
72 Scott Richardson SR Southeastern Louisiana 33:31.2
Event - Women 6k Run CC
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Name Year School Finals
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Results - Women
51 Bethany Burst SR Southeastern Louisiana 24:54.0
52 Ashley Pfantz SO Southeastern Louisiana 24:58.7
53 Heather Fitzhenry SR Southeastern Louisiana 25:06.9
54 Lindsey Toups SR Southeastern Louisiana 25:11.0
55 Leticia Shaban FR Southeastern Louisiana 25:11.9
68 Emily Pevey JR Southeastern Louisiana 27:43.6
69 Katie Neil SO Southeastern Louisiana 28:03.5
70 Jennifer Ernst SO Southeastern Louisiana 28:16.4
Nicholls Press Release:
BEAUMONT, Texas. – The Nicholls State University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 2012 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships and sophomore runner Tessni Carruthers became the first Nicholls All-Southland honoree since 2009 after finishing fifth overall to pace both teams on the day.
The Colonel women finished seventh overall with an average time of 23:37.86, while the men's team closed out the season with a strong finish backed by Sebie O'Neill's new personal best Friday morning at the Terrell Park course in Beaumont.
Carruthers earned her sixth top five finish of the season, finishing the 6K course in 21:41.8 to garner all-conference honors given to the top ten individual runners in the event. Sarah Pressley finished 30th in 20:13, as Jackie White finished just 13 seconds back finishing in 23:26.2.
Rounding out the Colonel women were Emily Charlesworth in 24:12.9, Ashley Johnson in 25:35.4, Victoria Williams in 26:44.5 and Emily Carrere in 27:13.2 giving Nicholls an overall score of 173.
O'Neill led the men's team with a new personal-best time of 27:26.3, followed by Kane Daigle who finished in 28:31.9 and Jonothan Comereaux's time of 36:12.5.
The Nicholls women will now have a week off before competing in the NCAA South Central Regional Meet on Nov. 9 and hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
NSU Press Release:
BEAUMONT – Mitch Landry and Sarah Emory led the way for the Northwestern State cross country teams as they competed at the Southland Conference Championships on Friday morning.
The men placed eighth out of nine team overall with 240 points while the women were ninth out of ten teams, scoring 206.
McNeese State took the men's title with 25 points after having three runners place first, second and third individually. Stephen F. Austin won the women's title with 56 points as three runners placed in the top 15.
Landry finished 32nd with an 8,000-meter time of 25:42.9. Also scoring for the NSU men were Alex Hebert (52nd, 26:43.2), Jeremy Elliot (57th, 27:20.2), Albert Gladney (60th, 28:13.2) and John Broughton (62nd, 28:26.7).
Matt Rodell (65th, 29:04.1) and Chris Lanier (67th, 29:16.1) ran for the Demon squad as well.
Emory placed 22nd after completing the women's 6,000-meter course in 22:38.2. Karensa Ellis (32nd, 23:16.4), Ali Fontenot (38th, 23:33.9), Becca Meehan (25:23.9) and Aly Coughlin (61st, 25:36.7) rounded out the scorecard for the Lady Demons.
Maya Robertson also ran for the women, finishing 71st with a time of 28:47.4.