Cross Country Sweeps in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO –  The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cross country teams returned to action in fine form on Saturday morning at Live Oak City Park in San Antonio, winning both races at the Incarnate Word Invitational.
 
"It was a red letter day for the Islanders," said Shawn Flanagan, Director of Cross Country/Track & Field. "The women ran the best race we have as a team in the last four years.  The top five all ran a spectacular race today."
 
The Islander women defeated four other scoring Division I teams on Saturday, including Southland Conference foes Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian, as well as UTRGV, which came in ranked 10^th in the South Central Region by the USTFCCCA.
 
Freshman Morgan McCutchen led the way for the first time, winning the six kilometer race in a time of 22:04.2. She was one of three Islanders in the top six of Division I runners, as Cynthia Quiroga took third in 22:07.2 and Liz Romo was sixth in 22:22.4.
 
Carissa Piñón and Rebekah Hardee rounded out the scoring for the Islanders on Saturday. The former placed 15^th in 22:50.5, while the latter crossed the line in 22:55.2 to take 16^th overall.
 
The men's team defeated five other scoring teams in San Antonio, including Southland opponents Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian, UTRGV and Texas State, which came in ranked ahead of the Islanders in the most recent regional poll, holding the eighth spot.
 
Marek Spriesterbach led the Islanders with a third place finish, crossing the line in 24:18.7 on the eight kilometer course.  He was followed closely by Vinnie Van Puyvelede, who took fifth in a time of 24:29.9.
 
Cesar Gonzalez, a former Southland Runner of the Week, was the third Islander to finish, placing seventh among Division I runners with a time of 24:36.9.  Jeff Lopez and Jan Anstett rounded out the Islander scoring taking 12^th (25:09.4) and 14^th (25:12.5), respectively.
 
UP NEXT
The Islanders will now begin preparing for the Southland Conference Championships, scheduled for Oct. 28 in Nacogdoches.
 
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Get on board with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Athletics by purchasing an Island Sports Pass for admission to all your favorite home soccer, volleyball, track & field, softball and baseball games in 2016-17. Call (361) 825-BALL or visit GoIslanders.com/tickets to purchase yours for just $80.
 
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