Lamar Cross Country Runs Strong at NCAA South Central Regional

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Kasagule and Koenck advance to NCAA Championships

Nov. 10, 2007

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Lamar University men's and women's cross country teams had strong showings at the 2007 NCAA South Central Regional Championships, at Agri Park in Fayetteville, Ark., with the men's team finishing fourth and the women placing sixth. Francis Kasagule and Clerc Koenck automatically qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championship in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday, Nov. 19 with their performances.

Both the men's and women's teams had the highest finish in the regional out of all of the Southland Conference schools.

Kasagule led the Cardinal men's effort with a second place finish, running the 10K race in a time of 29:23.4. It is the second time in Kasagule's career that he has qualified for the NCAA championships. Last season, as a freshman, he ran to a fifth place finish.

Samuel Kosgei was the second Cardinal to cross the finish line, placing 15th in a time of 30:21.5. Last year Kosgei was the fourth place finisher in the regional. Frank Bwambale finished in 25th place in a time of 31:05.9 while Drew Bean was the fourth Cardinal to finish, running a 31:30.9 which was good for 37th place.

Danny Shaw rounded out the top five for the Cards, placing 53rd in a time of 32:16.2 while Randy Becker finished in 69th with a 32:58.0 performance. The final Lamar runner to finish was Ewan Simpson, who came in 83rd place in a time of 33:33.6.   

On the women's side, Koenck led the way for Lamar with a fourth place finish in a time of 20:51.3 over 6,000 meters. The performance will send the two time Southland Conference champion to the NCAA championship for the first time in her career.

Renee Graham turned in an 11th place finish for Lamar, running a 21:12.8, while Rachel Kingsford finished in 38th place in a time of 22:18.0. Karesse Lethermon was the fourth Lady Card to cross the line, finishing 64th in a time of 23:02.6, while Stacey Monteau was 71st in a time of 23:17.2. Mercy Bungei rounded out the LU finishers with a 106th place finish in a time of 24:44.9.

Between the men and women, Lamar had five runners earn all region honors. Kasagule, Kosgei, Bwambale, Koenck and Graham all earned the honors with their top 25 finishes.

Arkansas claimed the men's team title and Rice picked up the women's team title. Southern Methodist's Silje Fjortoft claimed the individual women's title with a time of 20:34.2 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Shadrack Songok won the men's individual title for the second straight year, finishing in a time of 29:16.3.

http://lamarcardinals.cstv.com/sports/m-xc/recaps/111007aab.html

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