NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi men's and women's cross country
teams wrapped up their regular season with the Southland Conference Championships in Natchitoches, La. on the campus of Northwestern State Monday morning.
The Islanders men team took fourth place with a team total of 107, while the women's team came in seventh place with 203 points. Lamar won both the men and women's conference titles.
Senior Philipp Baar paced the Islanders with another outstanding finish. The Schwerin, Germany native broke his personal record in the 8k for the second consecutive race as he finished third overall, running a 23:46.4. With the finish Baar was named to the First-Team All Southland team.
Jason Garcia (24:56.0) finished 18th followed by Edgar Martinez (25:07.0) at 25th. Freshman Logan Pittdman took 30th with a time of 25:14.8, while Cesar Gonzalez finished (25:21.1) 34th.
Justin Adame (25:27.1) and Daniel Guerrero (25:29.9) rounded out the field for the men at 37th and 38th, respectively.
"The guys had a solid race but it just came down to us not finishing it off and that is why McNeese State beat us for third place," said head coach Shawn Flanagan. "Philipp ran really well and even though he got third, there's still a shot for him to get out of here and go to Nationals."
On the women's side, Regina Salinas led the squad with a time of 22:16.1, finishing 28th overall. Freshman Taylor Hawes (22:49.6) crossed the finish line second for the Islanders at 33rd. Liz Romo (23:14.4) took 44th followed closely by senior Vanessa Galindo (23:18.5) at 46th.
Jasmine McCoy finished the 6k race in 56th with a time of 23:37.6 while Carissa Piñón (23:48.3) and Shelby Polasek (24:53.5) rounded out the field for the Islanders at 58th and 74th, respectively.
"All year long for the women, we have had a series of injuries and problems. It wasn't a terrible race but it is definitely not what we were hoping for," Flanagan noted. "We just have to go back to the drawing board and get it next time."
Next up for A&M – Corpus Christi will be the South Central Regional Meet, which will take place in Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday, Nov. 14.
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