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| COURTESY SWAC.ORG |
CLINTON, Mississippi — The Alabama State women's cross country team won its third straight SWAC Championship, while the men finished second Monday at the league meet held at Mississippi College.
The Alabama State women's team easily outdistanced second-place Mississippi Valley State, which finished with 99 points.
The Lady Hornets were led by Paige Rankin, who finished second overall with a time of 18:20. ASU had five other top-10 finishes to include taking spots 3-5. Artrailia Lesane (18:27.05) placed third (18:27.05), Tatiana Etienne (19:06.55) placed fourth, Kim Wedderburn (19:06:98) placed fifth, Shantia Wilson's (19:37.91) seventh and Soyong Smith (19:56.87) ninth for Alabama State.
Jerrica Mahone (20:32.28), Santina Williams (20:33.45), and Markia Bartely (22:26.91) help wrap up the victory for the Lady Hornets.
The Lady Hornets ran a combined time of 1:34:38.67, averaging 18:55.74 per runner.
"Anytime you can win three championships in a row, it's special," said head coach Ritchie Beene, who again won SWAC Women's Head Coach of the Year honors. "As the saying goes, the third time is the charm, and the charm came because we had six runners finish in the top 10, which in my career has never happened before. We're going to enjoy this moment and then prepare to move on to the next phase of the season.
Rankin, LeSane, Etienne, and Wedderburn all received First-Team All-SWAC honors and Smith was named to the Second-Team. With the win, the Lady Hornets have now qualified for the NCAA South Region. The regional championship will be held in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Nov.15th.
Behind Alabama State and Mississippi Valley, were Jackson State (135 pts.), Grambling (141 pts.), Texas Southern (145 pts.), Southern (145 pts.), Prairie View (150 pts.), Alcorn State (154 pts.), Alabama A&M (181 pts.) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (205 pts.).
The men came into the championship looking to improve on their fifth-place finish from last season. They were able to do that and more with a strong second-place finish.
The Hornets were led by Brandon Coombs who finished 5th, crossing the finish line in 27:27.28. Andrew Coicou (27:58.56) finished 16th, Bryont Brown (28:01.29) finished 17th and Tyree Newton (28:14.28) finished 19th.
Coombs received First-Team All-SWAC honors for his top five finish. Other finishers for the men were Dyrez Ribeiro (28:54.52), Teven Avant (29:33.06), Christian Jones (30:04.03), Carlos Flores (30:31.95) and and Waynemond Bruce (30:57.73).
Like the women, several of the men set personal records today in the event that helped lead ASU to their improvement from last season. The Hornets ran a combined time of 2:20:35.93 averaging 28:07.19 per runner.
"It was exciting to watch the men finish second overall," Beene said. "We knew coming into the
Alabama State which finished second overall needed only 15 points to catch overall winner Mississippi Valley which won the men's event with 66 points to ASU's 81.Prairie View (83 pts.) was third and Grambling (90 pts.) was fourth. Fifth-place finish was Jackson State (97 pts.), Texas Southern (119 pts.), Southern (155 pts.), Alcorn State (210 pts.) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (212 pts.)
championship we had the talent to finish in the top three and a shot at winning it. We will go back to the drawing board with this men's team, get back to recruiting, and fill in the gaps that we missed out on today."
COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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