| Junior Dana Mecke scored her fifth individual victory of the year on Saturday. | Freshman Michael Cook finished 30th to lead the men to sixth place Saturday. |
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. ? Junior Dana Mecke remained unbeaten on the season to lead the UTSA women’s cross country team to an 11th-place showing, in a 44-team field while freshman Michael Cook spearheaded a sixth-place finish out of 38 squads for the men at the Walt Disney World? Classic on Saturday morning.
Mecke collected her fifth individual crown of the year, defeating a field of 353 runners at the Disney Wide World of Sports? Complex. The Smithson Valley product covered the 5,000-meter trail in a time of 17:18.70, edging runner-up Stephanie Aldea (17:28.00) of Houston by nearly 10 seconds. It marked the sixth career collegiate cross country title for the five-time Southland Conference Athlete of the Week.
Cook finished 30th in the men’s field of 324, touring the 8k course in 26:25.30 to lead all Roadrunners for the first time this season. Six UTSA harriers crossed in the top 70, as the Roadrunners tallied 204 points for sixth place in the 38-team field. Freshman Ivan Garcia was 38th with a time of 26:35.50, while junior Corey Vargas was close behind in 42nd in 26:40.50. Junior Jake Orndorff and freshman Layne Nixon rounded out the top five scorers in 55th (27:00.50) and 63rd (27:07.50), respectively, while freshman Albert Cardenas was 68th (27:17.10).
Windor (Ontario) won the team title with 29 points behind Dave Weston’s individual title in 25:01.40, followed by Florida (49), Embry-Riddle (117), Kennesaw State (176), Johns Hopkins (182), UTSA (204), Houston (266), Campbell (266), Tampa (291) and Florida International (305) in the top 10.
On the women’s side, freshman Kayla Pratt turned in a 16th-place time of 18:25.00 to help the Roadrunners score 335 points for 11 points in the 44-squad field. Sophomore Jayde James and freshman Courtney Nelson finished 104th (20:09.70) and 105th (20:11.90), respectively, while sophomore Baylee Holder was 143rd (20:52.20).
UAB claimed the women’s team crown with 82 points, followed by Windsor (107), South Florida (110), Tampa (164), Houston (169), Johns Hopkins (170), South Carolina (191), Central Florida (253), Kennesaw State (286) and Embry-Riddle (304).
The Roadrunners return to the course next Saturday, Oct. 18, when they travel to Huntsville to compete in the Sam Houston State Invitational.