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[October 21, 2006] HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The favorites came through Saturday at the 2006 Gulf South Conference Cross Country Championships as Harding University swept both the women’s and men’s divisions. The meets, held at Sharon Johnston Park, were hosted by the University of Alabama-Huntsville. The Southern Arkansas University Lady Mulerider team dropped one spot from last year, finishing fifth over the 5K course with 155 points in the 15-team field, while the Muleriders repeated last year’s performance, placing sixth in their 8K run with 153 points in a 10-team field. Ranked third in the latest national poll, the Lady Bisons, with 19 points, won their second consecutive GSC Championship and five of the past seven titles. HU was dominant, claiming five of the top six spots, and placing all seven runners in the top 10, with only five counting for scores. Janee Jones led the pack, winning the Individual Champion honor with an impressive time of 17:49. Teammates Savita Chelimo, Jess Fisher, Vicky Echeverria, and Kalina Szteyn finished third through sixth, and Mary Brown (8th) and Katy Grant (10th) rounded out the top 10 Harding finishers. Emry McKay of North Alabama broke up the Lady Bison stranglehold at the top, placing third. All seven HU runners earned First Team All-GSC honors by finishing in the top 10. Grant was named the GSC Freshman of the Year, ending with the best finish of any first-year runner in the conference. Kendall Mears, the leading SAU runner all season, earned Second Team All-GSC honors by placing 15th in a time of 19:46. Other Southern Arkansas runners were Marija Kolarevic finishing 26th (20:29), Michaela Krcova was 27th (20:32), Lindsay Musielak placed 36th (20:51), and Gaby Mendoza was 51st (21:21). Other Lady Muleriders competing were Pam Elmore and Ashley Weeks in the 97-woman field. Alabama-Huntsville (91) finished second in the women’s division, and North Alabama and West Florida tied at third with 106 points. Following SAU in sixth was Ouachita Baptist (159), West Georgia (162) placed seventh, Montevallo (217) was eighth, Valdosta State (260) finished ninth, and Henderson State (278) was 10th. Rounding out the final five spots were Arkansas Tech (304), Delta State (315), Arkansas-Monticello (345), Christian Brothers (362), and West Alabama (420). In the men’s division, Harding made it seven titles in a row scoring 22 points. All seven Bison runners finished in the top 23, led by Artur Kern, who won the Individual Champion honor in a time of 25:28 over the 8K course. Teammates James Cheruiyot (3), Julius Kosgei (4), Przemek Bobrowski (6), and Matt Cregger (8) rounded out those scoring for HU, with all being named First Team All-GSC. Michael Padilla of West Florida was second in the competition, and Stephen Hill of Christian Brothers was fifth. Leading SAU in their sixth-place finish was freshman Nathan Hall, placing 16th with a time of 27:17 to earn Second Team All-GSC laurels. Elliot Isom barely missed making All-Conference, placing 21st in 27:26. Others scoring for Southern Arkansas were Morgan Collier in 35th (28:26), Kevin Perez was 37th (28:39), and Joshua Mitchell was 44th (29:18). Cade Lambert and Michael Wooten also competed for the Muleriders in the 65-man field. West Florida (59) was second in the men’s division, Alabama-Huntsville (102) placed third, West Georgia (104) was fourth, and North Alabama (150) rounded out the top five. Following SAU in the final four spots were Christian Brothers (177), West Alabama (194), Valdosta State (233), and Arkansas-Monticello (264). The NCAA Division II Regional Championships will be held in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, November 4. #SAU# |
