OKLAHOMA CITY – Wayland Baptist placed second in both the women's and men's races and a total of 10 runners earned all-conference honors while six Pioneers qualified for NAIA nationals at the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships held Saturday morning at Woodson Park here.
"I want to say how proud I am of these groups. It's been my toughest season as a coach with everything going on, so I know it's been hard on these kids as well," WBU's
Brian Whitlock said.
Results
WBU came in behind only Oklahoma City in the men's 8-kilometer and women's 5-kilometer events.
The Pioneer men, ranked the equivalent of 28
th in the NAIA, finished with 38 points while fifth-ranked OCU ended with 22. John Brown was third at 76 and Southwestern Assemblies of God fourth at 120.
Gallery: (3-27-2021) SAC CC Championships
The WBU women, the equivalent of 31
st in the NAIA, produced 40 points, coming in after 23
rd-ranked OCU's 27. JBU was third at 55.
"I was a little disappointed with how the women finished. I thought we had a chance to win it. But if it's not COVID, it's strep. We had two girls get strep on Wednesday and those two struggled a bit," Whitlock said. "We will probably be on the outside looking in for nationals."
Dennis Kiptoo, a junior, paced the Pioneer men with his third-place finish, completing the course in 25 minutes, 6 seconds. OCU's Zouhair Talbi and Shimales Abebe were first and second, respectively, in 24:21 and 24:50.
"Dennis did well," Whitlock said of Kiptoo, who was second at this meet last season. He'll return to nationals along with freshman
Alex Spencer and sophomore
Jace Sanchez. Spencer took fifth in 26:23 while Sanchez was seventh in 26:53.
"Alex is going to be a stud. To be fifth as a freshman is awesome," Whitlock said. "Jace has had a bad foot and hasn't run in about two weeks, so I was proud of him for gutting it out."
Additionally, freshman
Peyton Murley was 10
th (27:04) and sophomore
Cole Rubac 15
th (28:31), completing WBU's all-conference honorees.
"I can't say enough about Cole Rubak. It was really special for him to get (all-SAC). He ran over a minute faster than last year. He has come a long way for us," Whitlock said. "Peyton did a great job as a freshman as well."
Junior
Cesar Amador 17
th (29:28) and sophomore
Devin Davis 18
th (29:32) completed the Pioneers' finishers. A total of 31 runners competed.
"Cesar had COVID as well and missed 33 days," the coach explained. "Devin did a good job, too."
In the women's race, WBU's top finisher was freshman Dorcas Kosgei, who placed fourth in 19:00. Finishing first was JBU's Allika Pearson in 18:08, while OCU's Jacinda Kwambai (18:28) and Sharon Koima (19:00) were second and third.
WBU senior
Teresha Jacobs (19:15) placed sixth and sophomore
Michaela Phipps (19:30) seventh, while senior
Elizabeth Williams (20:02) and junior
Michelle Sanchez (20:15) were 11
th and 12
th. All were recognized as All-SAC. A total of 26 runners participated.
"Elizabeth had COVID and was out 45 days, then she got strep. I'm proud of her for not throwing in the towel," Whitlock said. "Michaela was hurt and didn't run for two months, so what a great run for her.
Kosgei, Jacobs and Phipps all qualified for nationals as individuals.
"I'm just proud of these girls for grinding out a tough season and giving us a chance to win."
It was just the fourth meet since cross country season began in September, and first since Jan. 22. The conference championships were delayed to the spring due to COVID-19.
"I'm proud of these groups," Whitlock said. "They are such a blessing to coach."
The NAIA Cross Country Championships are set for April 9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
