Mathenge Tabbed SLC Athlete of the Week
9/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Southland Conference Release
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After a record-breaking performance at the Texas A&M Invitational last Saturday, Stephen F. Austin cross country runner Charles Mathenge has been tabbed as the Southland Conference Athlete of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday afternoon. It is the first SLC weekly cross country honor for SFA this season.
Mathenge proved that he is one of the best runners in the NCAA South Central Region in his first meet of the 2015 season, breaking his own 8,000-meter school record with a time of 23:32 on Saturday morning. Mathenge, who is coming off standout 2014 campaign in which he qualified for the NCAA Championships, finished second in a loaded field of 155 runners competing at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course in College Station. His new SFA standard in the 8k was just four seconds off the pace of first.
Mathenge first broke the 8k school record last season at the SLC Championships with a time of 23:42. He also currently holds a program best time at the 10,000-meter distance.
With his two points in the meet, the Kenya native led the Lumberjacks to a fifth place showing among 16 teams, including nine of the top 10 regionally ranked programs. SFA’s 126-point total also was good enough to beat each of the other five schools from the SLC.
Mathenge and the ‘Jacks will continue to train hard over the next few weeks before heading to Louisville, Kentucky for the NCAA Pre-National Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17.
-SFA-
