University of Houston
The American Cross Country Championships
Houston Women Seventh, Men Ninth at American Championships
10/25/2018 11:56:00 AM | Cross Country
Cougar women post best finish since 2014
NEW ORLEANS – The Houston Cougar Women's Cross Country team finished seventh at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championships, while the men placed ninth on Thursday at the Golf Club at Audubon Park in New Orleans.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The women opened action at the 2018 Championships, where senior Britani Gonzales paced the Cougars across the line in 24th place. Gonzales ran the 6,000-meter race in 23:45.87.
Freshman Regan Lobodzinski and junior Meredith Sorensen were the next two Cougars to enter the chute, finishing within four seconds of each other. Lobodzinski crossed in 24:13.27 to place 36th, while Sorensen took 37th in 24:17.61.
Houston's fourth finisher was Jahnavi Schneider, who ran the three-loop course in 24:51.84 to finish 46th, while senior Jennifer Dunlap rounded out the scoring with a 56th-place finish in 25:12.66.
As a team, the women scored 197 points to place seventh, marking their highest finish in the championship meet since taking sixth in 2014.
The men's race would follow, and freshman Gabe Armijo would pace the Cougars in the 8,000-meter race with a 37th-place finish. Armijo entered the chute and crossed the finish line in 29:22.21 in his first conference meet.
Another true freshman, Devin Vallejo-Bannister was the next Houston runner to finish the four-loop race, running across the line in 29:40.04 to place 45th. Sophomore Devin Fahey crossed just seconds later at 29:58.60 to finish 50th.
Sophomore Nicholas Hamilton finished just four seconds behind Fahey, running the 8K in 30:02.86 to place 52nd, while redshirt freshman Nicholas Fernandes capped Houston's scoring with a 57th-place finish in 30:24.45.
The Cougar men scored 220 points to finish ninth overall.
OFFICIAL TIMES
Women
24. Britani Gonzales, 23:45.87
36. Regan Lobodzinski, 24:13.27
37. Meredith Sorensen, 24:17.61
46. Jahnavi Schneider, 24:51.84
56. Jennifer Dunlap, 25:12.66
67. Claudia Santos, 25:57.70
68. Maddy Castleberry, 25:59.93
75. Kristin Powell, 26:17.44
81. Megan DeRouen, 26:34.94
Men
37. Gabe Armijo, 29:22.21
45. Devin Vallejo-Bannister, 29:40.04
50. Devin Fahey, 29:58.60
52. Nicholas Hamilton, 30:02.86
57. Nicholas Fernandes, 30:24.45
62. Jemal Wote, 30:44.39
68. Cooper Godfrey, 31:23.29
72. Cameron Laverty, 31:38.39
76. Isaac Pearce, 31:51.54
FOLLOW THE COUGARS
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougars), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the Cross Country team has established its own official Facebook (facebook.com/UHCougarTF) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarTF).
Players Mentioned
