SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men’s and women’s cross country teams will travel to Corpus Christi, Texas, to compete in the Southland Conference Championships held Saturday morning at West Guth Park.
The men’s 8k will start at 8:30 a.m., followed by the women’s 6k at 9:15 a.m. This marks the second time in the last three years that the league’s championship meet has been contested in Corpus Christi.
Senior Dana Mecke will attempt to defend the individual crown she won last year in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Smithson Valley High product clocked a 21:39 for 6,000 meters to hold off runner-up Anne Ronoh of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by eight seconds, capturing the program’s first league title since 1996 (Stacey Poole) in the process. Mecke has won three meets this fall and the nine-time Southland Athlete of the Week posted top-10 finishes at two of the nation’s tougher meets in her last two races at the Stanford Invitational and Chile Pepper Festival.
Sophomore Kayla Pratt, who was 16th at the conference meet last fall, has finished second at three meets this season and teamed up with freshman Jessica Bitterly to take top honors at the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Relays at West Guth Park on Sept. 4. Senior Pernilla Savestrand, sophomore Courtney Nelson and freshman Rebecca Crain round out the UTSA roster, as the Roadrunners look to improve upon last year’s fifth-place finish, the program’s fourth top-five showing since 2004.
“Our women should be very strong up front,” cross country coach Scott Slade said. “Dana is the defending champion and we expect her to be a serious contender for that again. Kayla has been running extremely well all year, and I expect her to have a very good performance on Saturday.”
The host Islanders are the two-time defending champions on the women’s side. UTSA has captured five Southland titles, winning three straight from 1991-93 and back-to-back crowns in 1995-96.
A deep men’s team is aiming to improve upon back-to-back sixth-place finishes at the Southland Championships the past two seasons. Sophomore Layne Nixon was the team’s top finisher in 2008, placing 16th with a 26:12 clocking. Nixon, a native of The Woodlands, Texas, has crossed as the top Roadrunner at three meets, including a 28th-place effort at the Chile Pepper.
Joining Nixon on the Coastal Bend will be senior Corey Vargas, sophomores Albert Cardenas, Brandon Chiuminetta, Michael Cook and Cole Reveal and freshmen Daniel Balbontin and Jim Stitt. Chiuminetta, who was awarded a medical redshirt last fall, was UTSA’s top performer at the 2007 Southland Championships with a 19th-place showing. Reveal, 28th last year, has been the team’s top finisher twice this fall, including winning the Ricardo Romo/Six Flags Fiesta Texas Classic on Sept. 18, for which he was honored as Southland Athlete of the Week.
“Our depth will be the key to a good performance in the men’s race,” Slade said. “We have a lot of guys back from last year, so the experience they gained and the lessons they learned in 2008 will certainly help them this weekend.
Lamar is the defending champion on the men’s side and returns last year’s runner-up, Francis Kasagule. UTSA collected three Southland Championships from 1995-97.
“These are the best teams we’ve had here in many years and I expect a good showing this weekend,” Slade said. “The teams have been more committed than ever this year. I’m very proud of their efforts this season and I’m looking forward to seeing us compete on Saturday morning.”
For complete meet information and real-time results, click here.
