Stephen F. Austin
Alabama Crimson Classic
SFA Women Fifth, Men Sixth at Crimson Classic
10/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Men's Results | Women's Results
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Stephen F. Austin men's and women's cross country teams ran to similar results on Friday evening at the University of Alabama Crimson Classic. The women placed fifth out of 25 division one programs and the men placed sixth as a team out of 24 division one schools.
True freshman Brittany Innis tackled the 5k course at Harry Pritchett Running Park in 17:55 to lead the way on the women's side. Her mark was good enough for a 17th place showing out of 225 women competing at the university level. Innis, who has consistently placed in the top three for the women this year, posted a team-best time on Friday for the first time in her young collegiate career.
"The women had a good meet today," said head coach Cody Clark. "I felt that if we could finish fifth or better out of the competitive field we'd be taking the next step as a team. Brittany really stepped up for us and had a smart race today."
Veteran Shelby Pesek came in right behind Innis with a time of 18:01. The junior secured 22 points for the Ladyjacks with the 22nd place finish. Redshirt freshman Courtney High was right on Pesek's heels until the finish, completing the course in 18:07 - just 12 seconds off Innis' pace - to place 26th. The trio of Innis, Pesek and High have led the team in each of the three meets in which they all competed this season.
The final two point-earners for SFA crossed the finish line within a two-second clip. Sophomore Bridgette Kozar (18:25) and senior Laurie Byrd (18:27) placed 50th and 55th respectfully to round out the top five and give the Ladyjacks their fourth top five showing of the year.
Tennessee's Chelsea Blaase won the individual title with a time of 16:37 - running ahead of the second place runner by 38 seconds. Host Alabama won the team title with 68 points while Georgia Tech (116 pts.), Auburn (130 pts.) and Mississippi State (162 pts.) rounded out the top four ahead of the Ladyjacks. SFA beat the only other two schools from the Southland Conference by large margins as Sam Houston State (362 pts.) finished 13th and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (494 pts.) took 19th.
Sophomores Charles Mathenge and Colby Mehmen each nudged their way into the top ten after great races to pace the SFA men. Mathenge completed the 8k track - officially marked at 8,085 meters - in 25:18 to claim eighth among 197 other division one runners. The Oklahoma State transfer has led the Lumberjacks in each of his first two competitive races of the year.
Mehmen, who has also been a familiar name among the leaders at events this year, posted a time of 25:28 to place 10th.
The next three Lumberjacks to cross were sophomore Anthony Gallardo (25:47), sophomore Josh Torres (26:23) and redshirt freshman Jeffrey Weisheit (26:35), placing 27th, 58th and 71st respectfully. The three runners finished within a 48-second span of each other to cap the scoring for SFA.
Ty McCormack of Auburn won the men's title with a time of 24:27 and Clemson brought home the team title with 123 total points. Auburn (130 pts.), Georgia Tech (133 pts.), Rice (150 pts.) and North Florida (165 pts.) rounded out the top five just in front of SFA.
The Lumberjacks edged SLC foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (190 pts.), which finished seventh as a team, and also outran Sam Houston State (358 pts.) and Southeastern Louisiana (623 pts.) to lead the conference action.
The SFA cross country teams will get more than two weeks off to recover from Friday's race before they return to action on Monday, Nov. 3 for the Southland Conference Championships in Natchitoches, La.
"As a team, we have some adjustments to make but we're moving in the right direction," Clark said. "We'll have two hard weeks of training now and work out a game plan to get ready to make a push for that conference championship."
2014 Alabama Crimson Classic Final Results
Women - 5th place overall (170 pts.)
17. Brittany Innis - 17:55
22. Shelby Pesek - 18:01
26. Courtney High - 18:07
50. Bridgette Kozar - 18:25
55. Laurie Byrd - 18:27
63. Katrina Fite - 18:37
74. Samantha Ottman - 18:48
75. Taylor Bohr - 18:48
152. Macy Davis - 19:54
Men - 6th place overall (174 pts.)
8. Charles Mathenge - 25:18
10. Colby Mehmen - 25:28
27. Anthony Gallardo - 25:47
58. Josh Torres - 26:23
71. Jeffrey Weisheit - 26:35
96. Cody Brown - 26:57
103. Quinlin McGregor - 27:00
139. Edwin Munoz - 27:51
-SFA-
