| Freshman Layne Nixon led UTSA with a 16th-place showing on Monday. |
NACOGDOCHES ? Led by a 16th-place showing from freshman Layne Nixon, the UTSA men’s cross country team finished sixth at the Southland Conference Championships held Monday at Piney Woods Country Club.
Nixon toured the 8,000-meter trail in a time of 26:12 to finish as the top Roadrunner for the sixth time this season. Fellow freshman Michael Cook joined Nixon in the top 25, crossing in 26:35 for 24th. Freshman Cole Reveal was 28th in 26:54, while junior transfer Jake Orndorff and freshman Albert Cardenas rounded out the top five in 35th (27:11) and 42nd (27:29), respectively.
“It was a close race after the first two teams, but I would have liked for us to finish higher,” distance/cross country coach Scott Slade said. “I think we are a better team than where we finished today, but with so many teams packed in tight like they were, a few places make a big difference in the standings.
“We are a very young team, but we have quality people with good hearts that are dedicated to getting this program going. We have a very bright future and this experience is something we will grow on.”
Junior Corey Vargas, the only non-first year performer on the squad, and freshman Ivan Garcia also raced, finishing 48th (27:43) and 66th (28:59), respectively.
In a tight team race that saw the third- through ninth-place teams separated by a mere 41 points, UTSA scored 145 points for their second consecutive sixth-place league finish. Lamar tallied 29 points to successfully defend its conference crown, while Stephen F. Austin was the runner-up with 87. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was third (129), followed by UT Arlington (130), Sam Houston State (138), UTSA (145), McNeese State (151), Texas State (151), Southeastern Louisiana (170), Central Arkansas (268), Northwestern State (294) and Nicholls (359).
Lamar’s Samuel Kosgei (24:13) bettered teammate Francis Kasagule (24:31) for the individual title.
“I’m really proud of the way the guys ran,” director of track and field/cross country Aaron Fox said. “We are really young on the men’s side, but they competed with a lot of heart in a tough field today.”
The Roadrunners will return to the course on Saturday, Nov. 15, when they travel to Waco to compete in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships.