2014 Cross Country Championship Central
The Sun Belt Conference hosts the 2014 Cross Country Championship at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama on Sunday, Nov. 2. The women’s 5K race will begin at 10 a.m. while the men’s 8K race is set for an 11 a.m. start.
Last year, UT Arlington claimed the men’s team title as it had five runners finish in the top seven. All five of those finishers return for the 2014 meet led by Craig Lautenslager, the runner-up last year. Lautenslager, Ryan Tilotta, and Emil Blomberg were Sun Belt First Team All-Conference honorees last season in leading the Mavericks to the title. UT Arlington enters the championship meet ranked fifth in the South Central Region of the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) latest weekly poll after finishing 22nd in the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana.
UL Lafayette is ranked 13th in the South Central Region, led by Matthew Rice. Rice has recorded the two fastest four mile times for a Sun Belt runner this season as he finished the McNeese Cowboy Stampede in 19:42.1 and the Ragin’ Cajun Invitational in 19:48.2. The Ragin’ Cajuns have appeared in three consecutive polls ranking as high as 13th in the South Central Region.
South Alabama, the host school for the meet, ranked ninth in the USTFCCCA’s South Region rankings. The Jaguars boast two runners that have claimed Sun Belt Runner of the Week awards during the 2014 season. Michael Pienaar, who has won the award twice, finished third at the Crimson Classic the last time he raced. Pienaar posted the top 8K time for a Sun Belt runner this year when he ran the Chile Pepper Festival in 24:12.3. His teammate Christoph Graf recorded the next two fastest 8K times at 24:33.6 at the Chile Pepper Festival and 24:34.8 at the Azalea City Classic for which he earned the Sun Belt Runner of the Week Award.
Appalachian State ranks 13th in the most recent USTFCCCA Southeast Regional poll. The Mountaineers have appeared in five of the six USTFCCCA polls during the 2014 season. Michael Ellis won the Sun Belt Runner of the Week award on September 17th after finishing first and leading the team to victory at the Winthrop Invitational.
UALR made the preseason USTFCCCA Coaches’ Poll for the South Central Region. The Trojans won the UALR Invitational as they had the top four finishers at the meet. Texas State also spent three weeks in the poll.
At the Azalea City Classic hosted by South Alabama the Jaguars finished first with five runners in the top eight. USA defeated fellow Sun Belt Schools UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, and Troy during the meet. Dusan Makevic of UL Monroe took third place to lead the Warhawks.
On the women’s side, Arkansas State is the defending Sun Belt champions as it edged out UT Arlington for first place. Arkansas State will be led by Rexi Parcells who finished sixth in last year’s championship meet. Parcells has the top 5K time this season as she finished the Chile Pepper Festival in 17:06.4. Her teammate Abbey Dixon has the next fastest time as she finished the same course in 17:12.5. The Red Wolves currently sit at 10th in the USTFCCCA South Central Region rankings. They have appeared in every poll this season with a high mark of eighth.
UT Arlington is in ninth in the same rankings after finishing the Pre-National Invitational in front of Arkansas State. The Mavericks’ five runners finished just 15 seconds faster than Arkansas State at the 6K meet. UT Arlington returns four runners who earned Sun Belt All-Conference Honorees at the 2013 Championship in senior Hannah Nilsson, junior Gabriela Alfonzo, senior Ashley Wright, and junior Katelyn Hayward.
UALR ranks 11th in the South Central Region Rankings despite being picked to finish 10th in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Trojans are coming off a team victory at the UALR Invitational. Emma Dahl set school records in the 5K and 6K this season. Her 6K time at the Rhodes Invitational was the top mark for any Sun Belt runner this season, while her 5K mark of 17:14.9 was the third fastest 5K time. Cheryl Nolan tallied the third fastest 6K mark of the season with a 22:02.2 at the Rhodes Invitational.
Appalachian State jumped into the rankings this past week at 15th in the Southeast Region. Tristin Van Ord headlines a group that finished first at four meets this season. Van Ord finished in the top six in all four races she competed in. The sophomore won the USC Upstate Open and finished second in two other races.
Georgia State spent much of the year ranked and rose as high as 10th in the South Region before falling out in the most recent poll. The Panthers finished fourth in last year’s Sun Belt Championship and return top seven finishers Hannah Stefanoff and Niamh Kearney. Georgia State added Stella Christoforou, the Sun Belt Runner of the Week on Sept. 10 and owner of the top Sun Belt two mile time of the season at 11:13.02, to this year’s squad.
Texas State jumped into the regional polls earlier this year after an impressive showing at the Chile Pepper Festival. The top five women all set personal bests at the Festival. Senior Kelly Trevino is supported by freshman Emily Potts and Nikki Sanchez for the Bobcats. All three finished in the top ten 4K times for Sun Belt athletes during the 2014 season.
South Alabama will be led by Nicole Durham who has posted top 10 times for a Sun Belt runner in both the 4K and 6K this year. She claimed the Watson Ford Invitational with a time of 22:36.6 in early October.
Full results and race recaps will be available upon the conclusion of Sunday’s races at the 2014 Sun Belt Cross Country Championship Central.