Cross Country Men Take Sixth, Women Seventh at Conference Championships

Monday, November 1

Tulsa, Okla.

TBA

University of Houston

Conference USA Cross Country Championships

Cross Country Men Take Sixth, Women Seventh at Conference Championships

11/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country

Nov. 1, 2010

Women's Results | Men's Results

TULSA - The University of Houston cross country team used new team leaders to post sixth and seventh-place finishes by the men and women, respectively, at the Conference USA Championships on Monday morning.

For the first time in C-USA history, Tulsa played host to the league championships. Although temperatures stayed fairly mild in the 50s and 60s, it ranked as the coldest weather the Cougars have raced in this fall.

Despite the chilly warm-up, the Cougars found a way to battle. Seven of the nine runners competing on the women's squad set a season-best time in the 5k, and all but two of the men did the same on the 8K course.

The women were up first and for just the second time this season, junior Megan Munoz set the pace for her team. With a time of 18 minutes flat, Munoz bested her personal 5K time by nearly 30 seconds, taking 31st place in the process.

Sophomore Kathryn Ducommun led the Cougars three different times this season and crossed the finish line second for the squad. Her time of 18:11 marked her fastest 5K of the season as she earned 37th place. Starla Garcia led the team's returners from a year ago but finished third on the team and 39th overall (18:17).

Senior co-captain Erica Hannemann pushed herself into the team's fourth-place position with a time of 18:32 (46th), crushing her previous season-best 5K time. After not racing in the Arkansas Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in the Cougars' last regular-season meet, junior Brandi Witte bettered her season 5K time, recording an 18:35 for 48th place.

Freshman Julie Reinwald and senior co-captain Jasmine Trier finished in 57th and 72nd places, respectively. Running in their first C-USA Championship of their career, freshmen Yasiris Gonzalez and Eryn Barroso challenged each other as Gonzalez finished 87th (20:23) and Barroso close behind in 89th (20:36).

UTEP All-American Risper Kimaiyo reclaimed her title as C-USA's individual champion, while the nationally-ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane earned the first team title in conference history.

In the men's race, a rare result occurred for just the second time this season. Until the Disney Cross Country Classic earlier this season, junior Nate Pineda had led the Cougars in every race dating back to his freshman campaign.

On Monday, sophomore David Smith overtook his teammate while running his best 8K time of the year. His 25:20 blasted his old season-best mark by nearly 40 seconds en route to finishing 27th, the only top-30 time of the day for the Cougars.

Never further back than second on the team, Pineda locked down 34th place (25:43) while fellow junior Andres Santaolalla stayed close behind in 36th (25:52). Both marked new season-best times in the 8K for the Cougar juniors.

As he has all season, junior Stephan Keller stepped up, edging his former 8K personal best by three seconds, good for 41st. Anthony Jordan, the final runner of the junior crew, took 46th (26:34).

Freshman Brian Tasson ran his second-career 8K just one second behind his first try (27:22) to finish 52nd. Cole Bessner battled injuries for much of his junior season but was able to cross the finish line for the first time since the Johnny Morriss UH Invitational in early September. He clocked in at 27:46 for 55th.

The Tulsa men made it a clean sweep for the host team, snapping UTEP's dominant streak of capturing four C-USA titles in the last five years. The title is the first for the Golden Hurricane on the men's side as well. All five runners in their lineup finished in the top 10, offsetting UTEP's individual champion Elkana Rotich.

Houston will now prepare for the NCAA South Central Regional set for Sat., Nov. 13 in Waco, Texas.

Houston Women (7th) - 195 pts.
31. Megan Munoz (18:00)
37. Kathryn Ducommun (18:11)
39. Starla Garcia (18:17)
46. Erica Hannemann (18:32)
48. Brandi Witte (18:35)
57. Julie Reinwald (18:53)
72. Jasmine Trier (19:28)
87. Yasiris Gonzalez (20:23)
89. Eryn Barroso (20:36)