CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Junior
Dennis Kipngeno headlined the 2021 Southland Conference Cross Country All-Academic Teams by earning Male Student-Athlete of the Year, and was one of five student-athletes from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to be recognized.
Kipngeno and senior
Tristan Stellmach were tabbed to the All-Academic First-Team. For the women, senior
Quin Johnson was distinguished on the First-Team, and senior
Valentina Campos and junior
Jasmine Perez earned spots on the Second-Team.
"I'm very happy for Dennis, as well as all our other athletes that earned a spot on the Cross Country All Academic teams," said head coach
Brent Ericksen. "They do a great job in the class room and out on the track and are all very deserving."
Kipngeno, from Eldoret, Kenya, was the league's highest finisher at the NCAA Championships with a 10K time of 30:14.3 in Tallahassee, Florida. It came after he qualified for the race at NCAA South Central Regionals. Kipngeno was an All-Conference First-Team honoree and placed fourth at the conference meet.
Stellmach, a Queen Creek, Arizona native, was an All-Conference Third-Team selection. He ran an 8K time of 25:15.47 to finish 11
th out of 65 at the SLC Championship. He also competed at NCAA South Central Regionals where he finished 53
rd out of 173 with a 10K score of 32:45.4.
Johnson, a San Tan Valley, Arizona product, was named to the All-Conference Second-Team. She placed top-10 at the SLC Championship with a 6K time of 22:17.86. At NCAA South Central Regionals, she clocked-in at 22:19.8 to place 56
th out of 171.
Campos, from Comfort, Texas, finished in 11
th at the SLC Championship with a time of 22:49.40 to become an All-Conference Third-Team honoree. She competed at NCAA South Central Regionals where she posted a time of 22:47.1, an improvement from her time at conference.
Perez, a Ricardo, Texas native, was the important fifth finisher at the SLC Championship for the Islanders to help them win the conference title by one point. She clocked-in at 22:53.15, which was good for 16
th. At NCAA South Central Regionals, she posted a 23:00.9.
Johnson, Campos and Perez were all part of A&M-Corpus Christi's SLC Championship squad.
Click here to view the full SLC All-Academic Teams.
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