STU cross country teams compete at Halloway Park
Sports
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
St. Thomas University men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Sun Conference Championship in Halloway Park.
The conditions for the conference championship race were tough for the runners, as the park is one of the most difficult tracks in the state of Florida and can increase times by as much as forty-seconds. The weather was also non-conducive for running with temperatures in the fifties.
None of these factors phased the Bobcats as both teams performed exceptionally well, placing second in both to finish as the runner-ups in the Sun Conference. The convincing victory for STU, puts them in a position to compete in the NAIA National Championship race in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The men's cross country team placed in second-place, with three runner's placing in the top-20, with the top-five STU runners finishing third, sixth, 20th, 21st and 32nd of the Sun Conference Championship race.
Leading the way for the men's team was George Kimutai, placing third in the 8K race. The freshman finished just twenty-eight seconds behind the race winner from SCAD-Savannah. Diego Lopez finished the race in sixth place, while Benjamin Guerrero placed 20th and coming in just one-second behind Guerrero was Jose Panalver to finish at No. 21.
The women's cross country team also placed second, behind SCAD-Savannah to finish as the Sun Conference runner-up. All-Sun Conference First-Team runner's Sarah Bomkamp and Susana Gutierrez led the way for St. Thomas, placing fifth and sixth, respectively. Sun Conference Champion of Character honoree, Andrea Peterson finished in 10th place, as STU had three-runners place in the top-10. Lesly Marcin finished at No. 12, and Sofia Young finished at No. 14 to round out the top five-runners for STU.
STU women's runners pulled off an upset over 24th ranked Southeastern University, finishing the Conference Championship race with 47-points. The Bobcats finished just four-points behind the Conference Champion, SCAD-Savannah Bees, who are ranked tenth in the NAIA.