LAKE CHARLES, La. – Junior
Elizabeth Khatevi won her third straight individual title at the 2026 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships on Friday morning, completing the three-peat in dominant fashion to further cement her place as one of the most decorated competitors in the conference's history.
In her latest title defense, Khatevi made a statement with the best showing of her career to date, clocking in with a blazing time of 18:53.6 in the women's 6K that finished a whopping 66 seconds ahead of second-place Mercy Kipchumba of Stephen F. Austin. This was the best mark of her three-year career with the Islanders, surpassing her previous program-record time of 18:56.1 set at the 2025 Arturo Barrios Invitational, and it also shattered her own SLC Championships 6K meet record of 19:44.7 from the 2025 version of the event.
The victory made Khatevi just the third athlete in Southland Conference history to win three consecutive individual championships, joining ULM's Nicola Roff (1987-89) and McNeese's Sita Waru (1999-2001). She also became the first Islander athlete – men or women – to win three individual titles, breaking a tie with A&M-Corpus Christi Hall of Honor inductee Shadrack Songok and Patrick Kimeli at two each. Her championship is the 11
th in school history and the fifth for the women's team in total, with the others coming from Allyson Girard in 2018 and Anne Ronoh in 2009.
Khatevi's performance helped lead A&M-Corpus Christi to second place in the team standings, tallying 81 points to finish behind only SFA and its mark of 32. The next best placing for the blue and green behind Khatevi was
Phylis Kibet, who placed ninth overall with a time of 20:53.4. Fellow Kenyan
Caroline Yegon was next up in 14
th place after crossing the line in 21:02.4 in her first championship race, and
Neele Heyne and
Faith Ramos rounded out the scorers in 26
th and 32
nd place respectively with times of 21:52.8 and 22:08.1.
The men's 8K followed as the second race of the day, with the Islanders also earning the silver medal after recording 53 points, second only to the Lumberjacks with 16. Their top finisher ended up being
Ezra Chelimo, with the freshman putting together a standout showing in his first collegiate meet by placing fifth with a time of 23:44.7. After this was a trio of athletes in quick succession in
Diego Canto,
Mathayo Bundotich, and
Brendan DiStefano, who clocked times between 23:58.9 and 24:07.5 to finish seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. Finally,
Andrew Rivas scored the final points for the team, crossing the line in 24:58.2 to place 26
th overall.
At the conclusion of the meet, the conference handed out its superlatives for the season, which were determined based on the individual finishes on Friday. Due to her victory, Khatevi was named Athlete of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, which was awarded to finishers one through five on both sides. Chelimo also earned First Team honors on the men's side, while Kibet, Canto, Bundotich and DiStefano were named to the All-Conference Second Team for placing sixth through 10
th in their respective races.
In addition, the results of conference championships were tallied toward the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, the annual institutional rivalry series between A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV. By virtue of finishing ahead of the Vaqueros in both races, the Islanders earned four points toward the overall standings for the year.
"Definitely a bittersweet day," Islanders head coach
Bryan Jackson said. "We came up short of the ultimate goal to two very good SFA teams. On the individual side, I couldn't be more proud of our All-Conference performers. Elizabeth was sensational, and her performance with a new 6K school record in a solo effort was unbelievable. On the men's side, I couldn't be more proud of how our top four competed with such courage."
The Islanders will now continue the postseason at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships, which will be hosted by Texas A&M in College Station on November 13. Khatevi will be looking to repeat as champion of that event as well, as she emerged victorious in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2025 to punch her ticket to the NCAA Championships.
"As we move on to the NCAA Regional meet, I am very excited to see what these athletes can do against the best competition in the region," Jackson said.
Women's Results
1.
Elizabeth Khatevi: 18:53.6 (NEW SLC CHAMPIONSHIPS 6K MEET RECORD)
9.
Phylis Kibet: 20:53.4
14.
Caroline Yegon: 21:02.4
26.
Neele Heyne: 21:52.8
32.
Faith Ramos: 22:08.1
49.
Brooklyn Albert: 22:54.3
50.
Abigail Kelley: 22:55.0
56.
Abbey Coberly: 23:12.4
Men's Results
5.
Ezra Chelimo: 23:44.7
7.
Diego Canto: 23:58.9
8.
Mathayo Bundotich: 24:06.2
9.
Brendan DiStefano: 24:07.5
26.
Andrew Rivas: 24:58.2
29.
Dominic Kiptum: 25:07.3
41.
Gary Custer: 25:39.3
44.
Dillon Smith: 25:49.5
48.
Noah Fernandez: 25:58.1
51.
Carson Brown: 26:09.3
Women's Team Results
1. Stephen F. Austin (32)
2. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (81)
3. UTRGV (116)
4. Houston Christian (121)
5. UIW (135)
6. Lamar (146)
7. McNeese (148)
8. LSU New Orleans (200)
9. East Texas A&M (215)
10. Nicholls (233)
11. Northwestern State (337)
12. Southeastern Louisiana (369)
Men's Team Results
1. Stephen F. Austin (16)
2. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (53)
3. McNeese (75)
4. UIW (94)
5. Lamar (146)
6. Houston Christian (167)
7. UTRGV (250)
8. LSU New Orleans (268)
9. East Texas A&M (281)
10. Nicholls (298)
11. Southeastern Louisiana (303)
12. Northwestern State (305)
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