Texas A&M
Big 12 Championships
A&M men 4th, women 6th at Big 12 Championships
Oct 29, 2011 | Cross Country
COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M men placed fourth in the Big 12 Conference meet they hosted at Pebble Creek Country Club on a picturesque Saturday morning with temperatures in the 50s. Henry Lelei paced the Aggie effort with a third-place finish in a time of 23:29.7 that netted him Big 12 Newcomer honors.
"This was a big thing for me, especially being recognized as the top newcomer," said Lelei, the 2010 NJCAA champion. "I think I did very well, it was better than the last two races I've had. I enjoyed running in the lead pack with the guys from Oklahoma State. That was a good experience for me.
"We did very well as a team in placing fourth. Every time we race we get better as a team."
Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven noted: "Henry is a tough kid, he missed five days of training after the Wisconsin meet. He stepped up and ran stride for stride with a couple of the best guys in the country. He's definitely headed in the right direction and was just a warrior out there."
Oklahoma State claimed a fourth consecutive team title, led by a 1-2 finish from 2008 Big 12 individual champion German Fernandez (23:25.4) and Colby Lowe (23:25.8), who placed third the past two years, over the 8,000-meter course.
The Cowboys, nationally ranked No. 1, scored 30 points for the team title to hold off the charge by No. 5 Oklahoma, who scored 43 as the team runner-up. Texas, ranked No. 11, totaled 87 points for third with the No. 24 Aggies in fourth with 102 points.
"It was our best team effort of the year," stated McRaven. "The guys really stepped up and ran well. Sometimes when you host you have a bit of anxiety and it may seem a bit tougher to compete since there are so many distractions compared to traveling somewhere for a meet. Sometimes it's hard to focus at home, so I was pleased that they ran well.
"Getting better is each week is our goal. We ran better today than we did two weeks ago and it showed with us closing the gap on Texas, who is ranked No. 11 in the country. We know we're ready now to run well in a couple of weeks at regional meet."
Iowa State (137) placed fifth and was followed by Missouri (170), Kansas (185), Kansas State (255), Baylor (274) and Texas Tech (314).
In the women's race it was No. 13 Iowa State taking the team title with a score of 68 points over No. 12 Texas, who was runner-up with 83 points. Oklahoma State, ranked No. 30, finished third with 86 points.
Missouri (125) placed fourth ahead of three-time defending Big 12 champion Texas Tech (126) and Texas A&M (149). Kansas (169), Oklahoma (189), Kansas State (201) and Baylor (214) rounded out the field.
Natosha Rogers led the Aggie effort with a 12th place finish in 20:02.5 over the 6,000-meter course.
"It was really nice having fans and teammates out here cheering for you," noted Rogers. "It definitely pushed me to the finish line. That was really nice.
"The weather was perfect, I couldn't ask for anything better. The course was really fast, which made it fun. I just made sure I didn't let the lead pack get to far ahead of me. I stayed right on them until the end."
McRaven added: "To see how far Rogers has come in such a short period of time is awesome. Coming off a stress fracture her first day of running was when we started preseason practice in August and her first race was just two weeks ago. She put herself in a position where she is All-Big 12 in one of the toughest conferences in the country and that is a testament to her spirit.
"The women had a good effort and are continuing to improve as we race in the postseason."
Caroline Jepleting became Texas Tech's fifth Big 12 individual winner over the past six years, running 19:30.3 to better Iowa State's Meaghan Nelson (19:33.8). Rose Tanui of Texas Tech, the defending champ, finished third in 19:43.4.
Kevin Burnett led the rest of the A&M men's crew by placing 17th in 24:16.4. MacLean O'Donnell finished next in 21st with a time of 24:19.8 while James Hodges clocked 24:28.2 for 28th. Rounding out the team score was Stephen Curry, who place 36th in 24:41.0.
Isaac Spencer was the sixth Aggie to finish, running 24:48.6 for 38th, while C.J. Brown claimed the seventh position with a time of 24:57.1 for 42nd. Will Barry (54th, 25:19.9), Ryan Miller (60th, 25:37.9) and Nathan Parker (67th, 25:50.7) completed the men's squad.
For the A&M women Katherine Devlin was the second finisher, running 20:40.7 to place 24th. Hillary Montgomery followed in 28th with a clocking of 20:48.0 while Haley Parsons ran 21:01.6 to place 41st. Rounding out the team score as the fifth finisher was Itzel Cetina in 47th with a 21:14.2.
Shawn Dalglish finished as the number six runner for A&M, placing 58th (21:31.9) while Kate Mohr was number seven, finishing 65th (21:41.9). Rounding out the squad were Tara Upshaw (67th, 21:45.6), Grace Fletcher (73rd, 22:00.8) and Gabby Salazar (83rd, 23:24.2).
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS - Pebble Creek Country Club - Oct. 29, 2011
Team Scores
MEN: 1. Oklahoma State, 30; 2. Oklahoma, 43; 3. Texas, 87; 4. Texas A&M, 102; 5. Iowa State, 137; 6. Missouri, 170; 7. Kansas, 185; 8. Kansas State, 255; 9. Baylor, 274; 10. Texas Tech, 314.
WOMEN: 1. Iowa State, 68; 2. Texas, 83; 3. Oklahoma State, 86; 4. Missouri, 125; 5. Texas Tech, 126; 6. Texas A&M, 149; 7. Kansas, 169; 8. Oklahoma, 189; 9. Kansas State, 201; 10. Baylor, 214.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
Corey Ihmels, Iowa State head coach - "I'm excited for the young ladies, they worked really hard up to this point. We had a beautiful day out here on the course and things went our way.
"We ran solid, we didn't run great today. Our usual number five was sick, so we had someone step up today that we didn't expect. But we knew that was a possibility, someone would come out of the woodwork.
"We ran well up front, but not great. I told them before that we will be a better team in two weeks at regionals and a much better team at nationals a week after that. It's a step along the way, but when you walk away with the conference championship it's special.
"Any time you win a championship it's special. It's been a long time coming for these ladies. We've had some really good individuals come through our program. Now to win a team title I have to give some credit back to the ladies who got this started about five years ago. Obviously, hats off to the young ladies who performed today.
Caroline Jepleting, Texas Tech individual winner - "Today was a good meet. I'm happy and pleased with how I performed. Heading towards regionals I'm hoping to do my best there as well as nationals.
"The pace was nice, I could feel that it was my pace. In the last 800 meters I felt really good and that's when I moved to take the win.
"The course was really nice. I was expecting today to be a little warmer since it was so windy yesterday. It was cool this morning, but at least the wind died down. That made it easier to run this course and have a good race.
German Fernandez, Oklahoma State individual champion - "It's been an honor to be part of this team the past four years. Our goal was to make it four years in a row and we did our job. It wasn't the greatest performance we've had this season, but we came here with the mentality of just winning and moving on to regionals. Our main goal is nationals and hopefully we can three-peat there. We can taste that championship, it's coming closer.
"It was great having Colby (Lowe) next to me the whole race and knowing Shadrack and Tom were right there as well. Colby pushed me the whole way. He led a majority of the race and I stayed behind him, working with him the whole way. Coming into the last 200 meters I thought he had me, but somehow I had enough kick in the end to nip him (23:25.4 to 23:25.8). At the end of the day, though, he is my teammate. I love him to death. I got lucky today.
"It feels good to win another Big 12 individual title (also win in 2008), but I'll take a national championship over a Big 12 championship every day.
Colby Lowe, Oklahoma State, individual runner-up - "To go out and win this title four times, since my freshman year, is what we came out here to do. Our plan was to run hard and defend this Big 12 championship. That's one goal down and time to move onto the next one. It was good to be in Texas again for one more race.
"It's great to run with this group of guys and it's the best group to train with ever. To run with a team like this, and to know everyone has each other's back, is special with the connection we have with one another.
Players Mentioned
