BETHANY, Okla. – Wayland Baptist's men and women both placed second and six Pioneers came away with all-conference honors at the Sooner Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships held Saturday morning at Eldon Lyon Park here.
"I'm proud of our athletes," WBU coach
Brian Whitlock said. "Obviously we're a little disappointed not having a team go to nationals as that's the expectation. But I am super proud of these kids for battling through many issues."
Results
In the women's 5-kilometer race, Wayland got a second-place showing from
Teresha Jacobs (18:54) and all-conference performances from junior
Michelle Sanchez (9
th, 19:47) and senior
Michaela Phipps (11
th, 19:53). Jacobs finished 20 seconds behind winner Allika Pearson of John Brown.
"I'm really disappointed Teresha didn't get the win but I am really proud of her and the season she has had this year," Whitlock said of the senior. "She has one more big race (NAIA Nationals) and will be our only qualifier to nationals.
"Michaela closed out her cross country career with all-conference again. I'm really proud of her time here at Wayland. She has been a wonderful Christian girl and great leader for us and I will miss that next season. Michelle had a good run as well to make all conference. She has finally turned the corner this season but I think she has a lot more to offer."
Rounding out WBU's team were three freshmen:
Vanessa Cerda (20
th, 21:02), Kari Matthews (23
rd, 21:17),
Celeste Lozano (27
th, 22:07).
"Vanessa and Celeste had their best races of the season," Whitlock said. "This was Kari's first race for us and she did a great job. She could be a good runner if she wants to focus on it."
The WBU women wound up with 65 points, behind only Oklahoma City's 36. The Stars had four top-10 runners, including 3-5. Science & Arts was third with 81 points. Seven schools participated.
While the Pioneer women were second for the second straight year, the WBU men -- ranked the equivalent of 31st in the NAIA -- were runners-up for the third time in a row. Wayland ended with 57 points, well behind sixth-ranked OCU's 21 as the Stars provided the seven of the top 10, separated by three Pioneers. Texas Wesleyan, 30 points behind Wayland, took third in the eight-team field.
"I thought my men ran really well today, especially my top three," Whitlock said.
Dennis Kiptoo, a junior, placed third for the second straight year, completing the 8k course in 25:43. OCU freshman Zouhair Talbi won in 24:38, two seconds ahead of teammate Shimales Abebe, a sophomore.
"Dennis has had a great season. We had a strategy today to run with my No. 2 and 3 guys and let OCU's top two go. It made a big difference for my second and third men. Dennis has really developed, not only as an athlete this year but he is a true team player."
The strategy helped freshman
Alex Spencer place fourth in 25:57 and another freshman,
Jordan Dixon, take ninth in 26:37. Both joined Kiptoo as all-conference honorees and national qualifiers.
"Alex has had a phenomenal season, and Jordan has been the surprise of the season for us. He wasn't a big recruit but he can be a big-time runner. He had his best race of the year after a bad one two weeks ago."
Rounding out WBU were junior
Cesar Amador (20
th, 27:37), sophomore
Jace Sanchez (25
th, 28:09), freshman
Scudder Sinclair (26
th, 28:09), sophomore
Cole Rubac (32
nd, 28:42), and sophomore
Devin Davis (44
th, 31:27).
"Cesar ran well at No. 4, and Jace was our fifth. He had foot surgery this summer and it really hurt him. He is way better than this and will show that next year, but he never got going this year. Scudder had injury issues the last two weeks but he battled out there today. Same with Devin and Cole as far as injuries down the stretch. Both of those guys have improved a lot," Whitlock said.
"We have kids that have overcome loss of parents, kids that have overcome tough COVID years, kids that have overcome injuries. These kids are winners and I couldn't be more proud to be their coach. They always represent themselves and Wayland extremely well in competition and in life. Next year my guys are going to be really, really good."
Next for Jacobs, Kiptoo, Spencer and Dixon will be the NAIA National Championships Nov. 19 in Vancouver, Wash.
