September 22, 2007
David Hebert led a winning effort by the Aggie men on Saturday at the Penberthy Intramural field as he placed third in the Texas A&M Invitational.
With a score of 42 points the Aggies earned a fifth consecutive team title as they held off a strong challenge from Lamar, who posted 54 points for second place. Rounding out the top five teams were Texas-Arlington (102), Houston (137) and TCU (148).
The rest of the men?â„¢s field included UT-Pan American in sixth place with 154 points followed by Sam Houston State (174), Texas A&M-Commerce (181), Texas A&M Alumni (247) and Texas A&M International (276).
On the women?â„¢s side Rice captured the team title with 30 points as Marissa Daniels claimed the individual title as well for the Owls. Daniels covered the 5,000-meter course in 17:19 while teammate Allison Pye finished third in 17:42.
Texas totaled 62 points for second place as the Texas A&M women took third with 71. Lamar (85) and Texas-Pan American (180) rounded out the top five. The rest of the field included TCU (181), Texas-Arlington (188), Sam Houston State (212), Houston (214), Prairie View A&M (308), Texas A&M-Commerce (336) and Texas A&M International (355).
For the second time this season Hebert had to contend with the combination of international talent presented by TCU?â„¢s Festus Kigen and Lamar?â„¢s Francis Kasagule. Kigen, the defending champion of the Texas A&M Invitational, shared the lead with Hebert through a majority of the 8,000-meter race with Kasagule in tow.
In the late stages, though, a stronger kick by the two African runners produced another third-place effort for Hebert, matching the same finish he sported at the Baylor Twilight meet during the end of August.
Kigen wasn?â„¢t able to defend his individual title, though, as Kasagule crossed finish line in 24:11 with Kigen runner-up in 24:15. Hebert, within striking distance all the way to the end of the race, clocked 24:18 for third.
Houston?â„¢s Steve Magness led the next batch of finishers, crossing the finish line in 24:27 for fourth place. Following were Lamar?â„¢s Samuel Kosgei (24:32) and Kyle Miller of Texas (24:45) in fifth and sixth place.
Texas A&M?â„¢s winning squad included Kevin McNab placing eighth in his debut race for the Aggies, running a time of 24:34. Kevin Ondrasek, who is a former prep winner in the Invitational, finished 10th in the race with a time of 25:03.
Joe Sauvageau and Andrew Montes rounded out the A&M scoring five as they placed 12th and 13th, respectively, in 25:11 and 25:13.
Sarah Balfour led the Aggie women?â„¢s effort by placing fifth with a time of 17:49 with Christina Munoz taking 12th in 18:26. The scoring squad for A&M was completed with Leigh Berger in 17th (18:38), Brenna Williamson in 20th (18:52) and Alie Cornell placing 32nd (19:17).
Last year?â„¢s champion, A&M?â„¢s Merideth Snow, ran unattached for this meet and placed 10th with a time of 18:03.
Others running for the Texas A&M women included Elizabeth Slaughter (33rd, 19:18); Kirsten Brown (46th, 19:50); Kassie Moore (50th, 20:00); Emilie Fischer (55th, 20:09); Frances Hearn (67th, 20:51); and Kathryn Hearn (72nd, 21:07).
The rest of the Aggie men?â„¢s squad included Logan Sherman (20th, 25:43); Brian Lind (21st, 25:45); Matt Ross (24th, 25:56); Graham Northcutt (26th, 25:58); Dusty Langwell (36th, 26:32) and Ben Schulz (45th, 26:55).
J.P. Machemehl led a Texas A&M Alumni group in the race, placing 19th in 25:39 while Alex Moore finished 34th in 26:26.
High School Recap
Running a time of 15:01 in the 5,000-meter seeded boy?â„¢s race earned Southlake Carroll?â„¢s Colby Lowe a third consecutive individual title at the Texas A&M Invitational. Lowe finished well ahead of teammate C.J. Brown, who was runner-up in 15:38.
Meanwhile, state-ranked No. 1 The Woodlands achieved the team title, after losing by a point last year, as they bettered Georgetown 52-91 in team scoring. Defending champion Southlake Carroll finished third with 100 points as Kingwood placed fourth with 109 points. The Woodlands were paced by Reed Connor, who finished third with a 15:41 clocking.
Cinco Ranch entered the girls?â„¢ seeded race as the top seed, ranked No. 3 in the state, and they lived up to that billing with a team championship. Cinco Ranch scored 52 points for the victory as A&M Consolidated claimed runner-up honors with 76 points. Southlake Carroll was a very close third with 79 points with Seven Lakes (93) and Georgetown (134) rounding out the top five schools.
Brazoswood?â„¢s Lauren Smith covered the 5,000-meter course in 18:12 to win the individual seeded title. Southlake Carroll?â„¢s Tara Upshaw ran 18:34 for seconds with Brittainy Robertson of Alvin third in 18:36.