South Alabama Wins Competitive Men’s Cross Country Race

Christoph Graf and Michael Pienaar took first and second as South Alabama won a close race over Appalachian State and UT Arlington in the Sun Belt Men’s Cross Country Championship.

Graf finished the Men’s 8K race in 24:26.6 to take the victory. Pienaar, the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year finished just behind him at 24:29.6. The two were part of the leading pack for the whole race, but were able to distance themselves over the last 1000 meters to help propel the Jaguars to victory. Patrick Rohr claimed 13th while Robert Mann and Joe Gratton rounded out the Jaguars scoring in 18th and 19th. Rohr finished with a time of 25:16.5 claiming third team Sun Belt All-Conference honors.

UT Arlington led the race through the first 6K, but fell off towards the end. Craig Lautenslager took third place finishing in 24:43.5 while Eric Ojeda finished just behind him at 24:43.8. UT Arlington had four of the top eight finishers as Ryan Tilotta took sixth and Michael Guerrero claimed eighth. However, the Mavericks fifth runner did not cross the finish line until Robert Gribble took 42nd place at 26:49.8.

Appalachian State finished in second place as a team on the backs of Kyle McFoy and Michael Ellis. McFoy finished in fifth place as he crossed the finish line in 24:49.1. Ellis took seventh in 24:55.8. Chris Anderson took 11th, while Josh Cox finished in 15th, and Daniel Ellis claimed 17th to round out the scorers for the Mountaineers.

UL Lafayette finished in fourth place with 90 points. Beau Robinson placed ninth as he had a mark of 25:01.9. Matthew Rice took 14th for UL Lafayette as he crossed the line in 25:18.9.

UALR was the next team to finish and they were led by John Vodacek who took 12th as he timed 25:14.4. Texas State was the next team to finish as Jose Angel Gonzalez raced his way to a 25:03.0 time and 10th place. Arkansas State finished in seventh while UL Monroe and Troy rounded out the men’s cross country field.

Men’s Team Results
1. South Alabama, 53
2. Appalachian State, 55
3. UT Arlington, 61
4. UL-Lafayette, 90
5. UALR, 130
6. Texas State, 152
7. Arkansas State, 157
8. ULM, 201
9. Troy, 24

Sun Belt 1st Team All-Conference
Christoph Graf, South Alabama
Michael Pienaar, South Alabama
Craig Lautenslager, UT Arlington
Eric Ojeda, UT Arlington
Kyle McFoy, Appalachian State

Sun Belt 2nd Team All-Conference
Ryan Tilotta, UT Arlington
Michael Ellis, Appalachian State
Michael Guerrero, UT Arlington
Beau Robinson, UL Lafayette
Jose Angel Gonzalez, Texas State

Sun Belt 3rd Team All-Conference
Chris Anderson, Appalachian State
John Vodacek, UALR
Patrick Rohr, South Alabama
Matthew Rice, UL Lafayette
Josh Cox, Appalachian State

Runner of the Year
Christoph Graf, South Alabama

Freshman of the Year
Michael Pienaar, South Alabama

Coach of the Year
David Barnett South Alabama