Troy University Athletics
Cross Country Teams Set Standard
11/1/2009 2:00:00 AM | Cross Country
MONROE, La. - The Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships were pushed back five hours on Saturday, from a morning run to an afternoon run due to conditions on the course from heavy rains throughout the day on Friday. The time difference did not affect the Trojans as they were able to record their best finishes since joining the conference.
The Trojan men finished tied for fifth overall, but finished ahead of Western Kentucky due to sixth runner coming in before the last Hilltopper runner. The Trojans finished just three points behind North Texas for fourth place overall in the race.
Denzel Ramirez was the top finisher on the day for the Trojans, crossing the line with a time of 28:28.75 to finish 18th overall. The Trojans also had two other runners finish in the Top 35, led by Enoch Kirui in 22nd place with a time of 28:43.50; and Jeremy Moujoodi in 33rd place with a time of 29:28.23.
Other runners for the Trojans on Saturday afternoon were Terrence Dixon in 42nd place with a time of 29:58.25, Drew Horner in 49th place with a time of 30:14.18, Nathan Rouse in 62nd with a time of 30:56.32 and Alec Hamm in 76th place with a time of 33:06.60.
The Trojans women recorded their best finish since joining the Sun Belt Conference by finishing eighth overall, just 14 points behind South Alabama for seventh and 24 points behind Arkansas State for sixth in the final standings.
Sylvia Chirchir also became the first Trojan female runner to earn All-Conference honors when she finished eighth overall with a time of 20:48.19. She was just 35 seconds from finishing fifth overall in the meet, and just 60 seconds from a top three finish in the race.
The Trojans' Kelly Harrington finished 31st overall with a time of 22:29.36, while freshman Morgan Paulson rounded out the Trojan runners in the Top 35 with a 33rd place finish in a time of 22:37.06. Freshman Allison Paulson finished 46th overall with a time of 23:02.90, while Anastasia Limo finished 49th overall with a time of 23:08.71.
Other runners for the Trojans on Saturday were Chalyce Stancil (52nd) with a time of 23:23.42, Agata Cichoszewska (63rd) with a time of 24:08.54 and Kimberly Tompkins (78th) with a time of 26:45.54.
The conference season has concluded for the Trojans, and the team will prepare for the NCAA Regionals on November 14. The meet will be held on the same course that the Trojans ran earlier in the season at the Crimson Classic.
