Troy University Athletics
Troy Men Have Strong Showing at Sun Belt Championship
10/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Troy University men's cross country team turned in its best performance of the season in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, taking a fifth place finish in the 11-team event on Saturday.
The Troy women did not far as well, placing 11th in the event. The Trojans were forced to compete without their top runner, Martyna Pietryka, who had dental surgery and was unable to compete.
"I thought this was on of Troy's best efforts ever in a championship cross country race," distance coach Doc Anderson said. "The first 12 guys across the finish line were foreign athletes, 11 from Africa which is known for producing outstanding distance runners.
"We went with a bunch of youngsters from Alabama and Georgia, with one from Ohio, and hung in there with the foreign runners, for the most part. I am excited to think about what these kids will be able to accomplish once they have a little seasoning under their belts."
Sophomore Aadam Soorma led Troy with a 20th place finish (26:22), followed by classmate Paul Boothe in 23rd (26:33). Freshmen Jeremy Moujoodi (26:40), Terrence Dixon (26:47) and Brett Lewis (27:22) finished 25th, 28th and 37th, respectively.
Two other Trojans competed in the event: freshman Adam Bradley (27:55) and sophomore Will Browder (28:33), who finished in 46th and 54th place, both with personal bests on the Rebsamen Golf Course layout on the banks of the Arkansas River.
For the Troy women, Jeanean Corcoran was the high finisher, placing 45th with a time of 20:01. Other Trojan finishers included Jennifer Graham (20:05) in 48th, Meghan Macdonald (20:50) in 61st place, Sara Jackson (21:12) in 63rd and Angela Palumbo (22:40) in 70th.
"We struggled on the women's side this year as a result of quite a few runners not returning this fall,: Bob Lambert, Director of Cross Country and Track & Field, said. "With Martyna not being able to make the trip, that pretty much took the wind out of our sales. We have a young team, with just one senior, and should come back next year with a much stronger team."
The Sun Belt Championship brought an end to the fall cross country season at Troy. Members of the two Troy teams will now turn their attention toward the winter Indoor Track, and spring Outdoor Track seasons.
2006 Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championship Results
Men's Team Results: 1. South Alabama 28; 2. Western Kentucky 90; 3. North Texas 98; 4. Florida International 125; 5. Troy 133; 6. UALR 136; 7, UL Lafayette 149; 8. UL Monroe 188; T9. Arkansas State 213; T9. Middle Tennessee 213; 11. FAU 248.
Men's Individual Results: 1, Vincent Rono, South Alabama, 23:40.19. 2, Tonny Okello, South Alabama, 23:42.32. 3, Maya Aden, UL Monroe, 24:14.30. 4, Micah Tirop, South Alabama, 24:26.28. 5, Harry Larubi, South Alabama, 24:47.32. 6, Ondrej Puskar, UALR, 24:51.61. 7, William Songcock, Middle Tenn, 25:09.62. 8, Frank Ngeno, North Texas, 25:14.96. 9, Cosmas Sigei, Western Kentucky, 25:16.81. 10, Daniel Kipsiro, Western Kentucky, 25:33.25.
Women's Team Results: 1. Western Kentucky, 39; 2. Florida International, 69; 3. Florida Atlantic, 103; 4. UALR, 104; 5. Middle Tennessee, 134; 6. UL Monroe, 135, 7. North Texas, 140; 8. UL Lafayette, 200; 9. Arkansas State, 213; 10. South Alabama, 254; 11. Troy 287.
Women's Individual Results: 1, Whitney Kerth, UALR, 17:21.13. 2, Janet Jasang, Western Kentucky, 17:35.74. 3, Trisha Doyle, Florida Atlantic, 17:53.39. 4, Natalie Leepers, Western Kentucky, 18:02.03. 5, Paola Reategui, FIU, 18:10.55, 6, Dierdre Witherspoon, FIU 18:12.39. 7, Emily Leepers, Western Kentucky, 18:13.80. 8, Iki Feil, Florida Atlantic, 18:20.33. 9, Amanda Adams, Western Kentucky, 18:26.35.10, Amy Harris, UL Monroe, 18:28.85.
