SFA Sweeps ULM Twilight Dual Meet
9/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 6,
MONROE, La. - The Stephen F. Austin men and women's cross country teams got the 2002 season out to a successful start Friday night at the ULM Twilight Dual Cross Country Meet. The Lumberjacks defeated Mississippi, 19-36, and beat host Louisiana-Monroe, 20-36. The Ladyjacks knocked off ULM, 24-31, and beat Mississippi, 19-36. The SFA women also defeated Louisiana Tech, 15-40.
The Lumberjacks dominated the top five as three SFA runners crossed the finish line within 17 seconds of one another. Amlesom Teklai led the way for SFA with his second-place finish, crossing the line at 21:20. Curtis Watson was the second Lumberjack to cross the line, finishing with a time of 21:30. Marc Farris' time of 21:37 was good enough for a fourth-place finish. The Lumberjacks Shawn Berry recorded a time of 22:39 to finish seventh overall. Teammate Chuck Strodtman was only one second off Berry's time, finishing eighth.
The Ladyjacks finished in similar fashion with four runners crossing the line among the meet's top 10. SFA was led by Ana Rodriguez who was second overall with a time of 11:37. Jessica Partin was fifth overall with her time of 12:35. Kathryn Scarborough was the third Ladyjack to cross the finish line with a time of 12:50, which was good enough for seventh-place overall. Teammate Hollie Counts was only two seconds off Scarborough's time with her eighth-place finish.
"We brought a mixed group of experience and youth to this meet" said distance coach Alex Gibby. "I'm really happy with the girls performance. They came out and established themselves and then moved up in the race. I think they are ahead of where they were at this point last year. I'm also pleased with the men's team. We had some freshman who stepped and ran well and along with the veterans. I think that speaks to our depth as a team this year. We hope this is a showcase of thing to come."
The SFA cross country teams will be back in action on Friday Sept. 20th, as they will be in Huntsville, Texas, competing at the SHSU Invitational.
-SFA-
