October 15, 2011

Cross Country Teams Perform Well at Chile Pepper Festival

Women's 6k Results

Men's 10k Results

Concordia Invite Results

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi cross country teams performed well today at the 23^rd Annual Chile Pepper Festival. Despite missing critical runners, the women's team finished 11^th out of 34 teams in the 6k, while the men's team placed 12^th out of 32 teams in the 10k, at Agri Park.

"Overall we have been training hard," head coach Shawn Flanagan said. "There are a lot of good things we did today that we can build on. We didn't finish as well as we had hoped, but if we get everyone healthy and keep tuggin' away we will be solid heading into the conference meet."

On the women's side, the Islanders, who are ranked No. 5 in the South Regional rankings, finished 11^th with 306 points. The squad placed two slots in front of Southland foe UTSA who finished with 403 points. Texas won the race with 85 points, while Arkansas placed second with 89 points.

"We finished 11^th as a team, farther back from where we finished last year," Flanagan said. "The field was a lot tougher than last year, which made a difference."

Senior Kristine Burciaga led the Islanders for the second straight race with a 32^nd-place finish with a time of 21:28.0. Senior Julia Sambu crossed the line in 44th place with a time of 21:46.2. Junior BreAnna Briggs and senior Danielle Higgins finished third and fourth for the Islanders in 70^th and 79^th place, respectively. Freshman Shelby Polasek stepped up for the team, with the absence of Sarah Kimaiyo. Polasek placed 116^th with a time of 22:50.9. Sophomore Cecilia Gonzalez finished in 137^th place with a time of 23:13.3 and Melissa Jones followed in 159^th place with a time of 23:35.6. Freshmen Vanessa Galindo and Jasmine Boutte rounded out the field for the Islanders with times of 24:12.4 and 24:18.6, respectively.

"The top four ran very well," Flanagan said. "We didn't have Sarah Kimaiyo our No. 4 runner. Christine, Julia and Shelby ran solid races."

On the men's side, the Islanders, who are ranked No. 6 in the South Regional rankings, finished 12^th with 374 points. The squad was hindered with a couple of injuries, but still performed a solid race. Oklahoma State took first place, while Arkansas finished in second.

Junior Patrick Kimeli had his fastest 10k of his Islanders career, while leading the men's team to a 12^th-place finish with a time of 29:58.1. Freshman Christoph Hintz finished second for the squad, who was without No. 2-runner Angel Banda. Hintz placed 89^th with a time of 31:44.4. Freshman Philipp Baar finished 105^th in 32:01.2 and Valentinas Rudys crossed the line in 125^th-place with a time of 32:12.7. Sophomore Jason Garcia placed 132^nd and sophomore Justin Adame placed five spots behind Garcia in 137^th place. Freshman Paul Hansel, rounded out the field for the Islanders in 155^th place.

"Patrick ran really well," Flanagan said. "Christoph and Phillip had their best performances of the season and Valentinas had a solid race."

The Islanders are off the next two weeks and will return to action on Mon., Oct. 31, at 9:30 a.m. when they compete in the Southland Conference Championships in Nacogdoches, Texas.

"If you look at the conference on the women's side, UTSA put one runner in our top four," Flanagan said. "Our freshman beat their fifth girl, so it's encouraging. We have two weeks to get it together. On the men's side, at the conference meet the 8k will help us. We are fine in the region and in the conference, so we're looking solid going into conference."

Concordia University Invitational

The Islanders sent seven runners to Cedar Park High School in Austin, Texas to compete in the Concordia University Invite. In the women's 5k, freshman Marie Eulitz placed 16^th with a time of 19:08.88. Freshman Jennifer Ramirez crossed the line second for the Islanders in 29^th place with a time of 19:40.41. Shelby Nichols followed in 38^th place in 20:01.75 and Julia Wohlschlegel rounded out the field for the Islanders in 45^th place with a time of 20:32.02.

Junior Jacob Abrego was the first Islander to cross the line in the men's 5k race. Abrego finished in 17^th place with a time of 15:57.84. Brandon Lacy placed 26^th with a time of 16:10.05 and senior Jeremy Juarez recorded a time of 16:35.22 to finish in 42^nd place.

For the latest information, follow Islanders Cross Country on Twitter (@IslandersTFXC) and Facebook (Texas A&M Corpus Christi Track & Field/Cross Country).

Chile Pepper Festival Results

Women's 6k Run Team Scores:

1. Texas 85

2. Arkansas 89

3. Oklahoma State 123

4. Texas Tech 156

5. Weber State 175

6. Southern Methodist 202

7. Wichita State 215

7. Utah 215

9. Oklahoma 238

10. Southern Utah 302