November 09, 2012

Cross Country Finishes Strong at NCAA South Central Regional Championships

MEN'S 10K RESULTS

WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up team competition today at the 2012 NCAA Division I South Central Regional Championships at Agri Park. The men's team had a strong day, finishing in eighth place while the women's team clocked a 13th-place finish.

Senior Patrick Kimeli placed 15th to earn his third consecutive all-region honor and still has a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships for his third straight year. The at-large bids will be announced Saturday at noon. If Kimeli qualifies he will keep the streak alive of seven straight years the Islanders have had a runner qualify to the NCAA Championships.

The women's squad finished the 6k race in 13th place out of 36 schools in the South Central region with 338 points and one spot ahead of their No. 14 South Central Regional ranking. The Islanders placed three spots behind Stephen F. Austin (255 points) to finish second out of the Southland Conference. No. 1-ranked Arkansas won with 44 points and No. 2-ranked Texas finished in second with 68 points. No. 5-ranked Texas A&M placed third (140 points) while SMU (178 points) and UTSA (187 points) rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth place.

The Islanders were led by BreAnna Briggs who finished in 37th place with a time of 22:18.5. The senior improved her placing by 21 spots from a year ago and bested her time at Agri Park by 5.4 seconds. Behind Briggs was junior Cecilia Jones in 57th place with a time of 22:54.4. Jones also improved her previous time at Agri Park by 1:37. Vanessa Galindo was the third Islander to cross the line in 68th place with a time of 23:07.9 and Jasmine Boutte followed in 92nd place with a time of 23:45.8. Freshmen Ashley Mills (112th), Regina Salinas (117th) and Samantha Hardin (129th) rounded out the field for the women's team.

"The top three girls ran really well," Head Coach Shawn Flanagan said. "This was our rebuilding year and we have another year to get everyone on the same page. Bre went out in a good way and Cecy and Vanessa both ran really well."

The men's team had a strong showing today, finishing in eighth place out of 36 schools in the South Central region with 228 points and one spot ahead of their No.9 South Central Regional ranking. The Islanders placed fourth out of the Southland, behind McNeese State (4th place, 157 points), Stephen F. Austin (5th place, 174 points) and Lamar (7th place, 211 points). No. 1-ranked Texas finished in first place with 38 points while No. 2-ranked Arkansas finished in second with 53 points. No. 3-ranked Texas A&M placed third (93 points) while McNeese State (157 points) and Stephen F. Austin (174 points) rounded out the top five.

Behind Kimeli was Philipp Baar in 31st place with a time of 31:50.0 and in 39th place was Abel Koskey with a time of 32:11.8. Christoph Hintz crossed the line in 72nd place with a time of 33:06.8 and senior Adrian Marquez finished his Islander career in 79th place with a time of 33:27.0. Rounding out the men's team was Paul Hansel in 93rd place with a time of 33:55.1.

"Patrick, Philipp and Abel ran really well," Flanagan said. "I'm very optimistic about Patrick's chances of qualifying. It's been a long season but the men's team has worked hard and Shadrack (Songok) has done a good job of working with them."

Briggs, Marquez and Daniel Barlow all competed in their final race as an Islander.

Kimeli still had a chance of representing the Islanders at the 2012 NCAA National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 17, in Louisville, Ky.

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

Women's 6k Team Scores:

1. Arkansas 44

2. Texas 68

3. Texas A&M 140

4. SMU 178

5. UTSA 187

6. Texas Christian 189

7. Baylor 217

8. LSU 230

9. Arkansas State 233

10. Stephen F. Austin 255

11. Rice 265