SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to Nacogdoches this Friday, Oct. 27, to compete in the Southland Conference Championships hosted by Stephen F. Austin at Pecan Acres Park.
The women’s 6,000-meter race is set to begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the men’s 8,000m at 10:30 a.m. Defending champions are the Lamar women and Stephen F. Austin men.
The UTSA women will try to improve upon last year’s fifth-place finish under the guidance of sixth-year head coach Rose Monday. Senior Hope Jimenez has been the top runner in all four meets this fall, highlighted by a collegiate win at the Ricardo Romo/UTSA Classic on Sept. 22 that earned her SLC Athlete of the Week honors. Senior Veronica Silva garnered all-conference accolades at the 2005 SLC Championships, finishing seventh in a time of 22:43 on the Demon Hills 6k course in Natchitoches, La. The freshman duo of Faith Barlow and Dana Mecke has emerged as a force with five combined top-20 finishes this year.
The women have not been crowned conference champions since winning their fifth title in a six-year span in 1996. UTSA is tied with Stephen F. Austin for the most SLC Championships (five) and holds league records for lowest point total (21, 1996) and widest winning margin (50, 1996). UTSA’s two individual champions are Stacey Poole (1996) and Liza Hunter (1992).
The UTSA men look to better last year’s seventh-place showing under first-year coach Scott Slade. In their first year with the program, senior Benson Cheserek and junior Carlos Perez have been the top two performers this fall with each finishing as the top Roadrunner twice this fall. Junior Eric Miller is the top returning finisher from the 2005 SLC Championships as he finished 29th with a 27:29 clocking for 8,000 meters at Demon Hills.
Historically, the men have not won a conference team title since capturing three straight from 1995-97. David Hartman performed an unusual feat in that stretch, earning Athlete of the Year honors for winning the individual title in 1995 and Coach of the Year accolades in 1997. Ryan Taylor claimed the individual title and Athlete of the Year award in 1997.
Entries and results can be found here.