Stephen F. Austin
Southland Conference Championships
SFA Competes At Conference Championships
10/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 31, 2009
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -
Meet Results
Following a disqualification of Stephen F. Austin's top finisher, the Ladyjacks posted a second-place finish Saturday at the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships. This marks the second consecutive year for SFA to finish second in the women's race.
When the initial race results were posted, SFA had three runners among the top 10 individuals, and the Ladyjacks were listed as the conference champions with a three-point edge over host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The results were challenged, however, and, following a protest, it was determined that SFA sophomore Stephanie Ganter cut outside the boundary of the course about 100 meters from the finish. Ganter, who initially finished second, was instead disqualified, and the Ladyjacks wound up in second place with a team score of 82 points, 24 behind first-place A&M-Corpus.
"Our top five girls ran the race they should have run, and I'm proud of them for that," SFA coach Lou Snelling said. "And they won. They stepped up on the day they needed to, and we won the race. The disqualification cost us the meet."
Snelling appealed the disqualification, but to no avail.
With Ganter disqualified, juniors Amy Shackelford and Megan Jenkins became SFA's top two finishers, both taking All-Southland honors. Shackelford finished sixth with a time of 21:26 on the 6,000-meter course. Jenkins turned in a time of 21:37 to finish ninth.
True freshman Haley Parsons was the next Ladyjack across the line, finishing 13th with a time of 21:44. Redshirt freshman Randi Wymer clocked in at 22:11 to finish 25th. Junior Meredith Blocker rounded out SFA's scoring runners by finishing 29th with a time of 22:24.
Junior Marie Flores took 34th with a time of 22:34, and sophomore Brette Fleming-Wood finished 48th, posting a time of 23:23.
In the men's race, SFA took fourth as a team, led by an all-conference performance from sophomore Mitch Ownbey, who finished fourth. The 'Jacks put three runners in the top 13 and finished with a team score of 87 points, just a point behind third-place UTSA.
"Mitch ran smart and put himself in a good spot," Snelling said.
Ownbey completed the 8,000-meter race in 24:16, just three seconds off the pace of the third-place finisher. Junior Dennis Yeats narrowly missed All-Southland honors by taking 12th with a time of 24:41. Senior Keith Mahipala finished one slot behind him with a time of 24:51.
"Our top three got out in a good spot, but our four, five and six were just never in the race," Snelling said. "To be fair, the race rolled. The times everybody ran were pretty impressive."
Sophomore Xavier Rodriguez took 29th with a time of 25:50, and classmate Harmon McClanahan finished 31st, seven seconds behind. Sophomore Logan Smart was the sixth Lumberjack to finish, posting a 35th-place time of 26:05.
Sophomores Sam Hulse (26:52) and Adam Saloom (27:00) rounded out the SFA competitors, finishing 51st and 53rd, respectively.
The Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks will be back in action on Nov. 14, when they travel to Waco, Texas, for the NCAA South Central Regional Championships.
-- SFA --
