SFA to Chase NCAA Berths at Regionals on Friday
11/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
2015 NCAA South Central Regional
Friday, November 13
Watts Cross Country Course • College Station, Texas
Women’s 6k – 10:00 a.m. • Men’s 10k – 11:00 a.m.
Live Results • USTFCCCA National Results Wall
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin cross country teams will seek to do something that hasn’t been done before in program history this Friday morning at the NCAA South Central Regional Meet, hosted by Texas A&M at the Watts Cross Country Course. Both the men and women will be vying for a first or second place team finish to earn automatic berths to the 2015 NCAA Championships, held in Louisville, Kentucky on Nov. 21.
The SFA women, currently ranked fifth in the region, will start things off on Friday at 10:00 a.m. with a 6,000-meter race. The men’s 10,000-meter competition will follow at 11:00 a.m. The Lumberjacks are also fifth in the regional rankings going in.
No current Southland Conference institution on either side has ever qualified for nationals as a team. A third place showing in 2003 by the SFA men is the best finish regionally in program history. Current cross country coach Cody Clark was a runner on that squad, which came just four points shy of an NCAA spot.
The Ladyjacks could earn their best place in program history if they can crack the top four. The 2005 team’s fifth place effort is the only top five appearance at the event since 2000.
You don’t have to go as far back in the record books to find SFA’s last individual national qualifier as junior Charles Mathenge accomplished the feat just one year ago. The Kenyan broke the 10k school record at the 2014 regional meet with a time of 29:58 and placed seventh overall to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships.
In even better shape this year, Mathenge will be a favorite again after putting together a terrific 2015 campaign. His last time out on Oct. 30, he grabbed runner-up honors at the 2015 SLC Championships in Huntsville to help his team take second behind Lamar. In his first race of the season at Texas A&M on Sept. 26, Mathenge broke his own school record in the 8k by way of a 23:32 mark and a second place finish. His familiarity and success at Watts Cross Country Course, as well as his preference for longer races, certainly bodes well for Friday.
Mathenge, as well as 2015 all-conference teammates Nick Guerra, Colby Mehmen and Jeffrey Weisheit, will need to finish in the top four individually (out of the runners that don’t qualify with a team) to make the NCAA field.
Outside of Mathenge, senior Cody Brown is the only all-region team member from last year. Brown posted a mark of 30:20 to take 19th overall in Arkansas. Student-athletes who finish in the top 25 are considered all-region.
Three women that could make a push for an individual qualifying spot are all-conference performers Shelby Pesek, Katrina Fite and Courtney High. Each Ladyjack crossed in the top 10 at the SLC meet two weeks ago to help their team take runner-up for the second straight year.
“For the women, our goal is to place in the top five,” said Clark. “For the guys, we really want to finish no worse than third and hopefully squeeze in the top two. We’ll have to go through Texas, Texas A&M and North Texas, who will be the main contenders outside of Arkansas. The Razorbacks look pretty stout this year so it’ll be tough to catch them on either side.
“If we don’t make it as a team, we’ll obviously be trying to get some individuals out for nationals. I think Charles has a really good chance. A couple other guys, including Nick and Colby, will have a chance as well I think. The teams are ready and we’re really looking forward to Friday.”
The ‘Jacks will be sending eight runners from each team to College Station. On the women’s side, Pesek, Fite and High will be joined by Taylor Anderson, Brittany Innis, Mary Luster, Samantha Ottman and Rana Ryan. Mathenge, Guerra, Mehmen, Weisheit and Brown will all toe the line alongside Matt Farina, Quinlin McGregor and Josh Torres in the men’s race.
-SFA-
