Cross Country Travels to Memphis for C-USA Championships
10/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 31, 2008
HOUSTON--The University of Houston men and women's cross-country teams will travel to Memphis, Tenn. Saturday to compete in the Conference USA Championships, which will take place at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.
The women's 5K race is slated to begin at 9 a.m. (CT), while the men's 8K will start at 10 a.m. (CT).
The women are looking to add to their four first-place finishes this season and five-consecutive top-five finishes.
Freshman Stephanie Aldea is also looking to capture her sixth-consecutive top-three finish.
The women are coming off an impressive first-place finish at the Sam Houston Invitational, Oct. 18. Five Cougars placed in the top-eight, with freshman Starla Garcia capturing first in the 4K race with a time of 14:23.20.
Last year, the women finished 11th, while Rice captured first in the C-USA Championships.
Three letterwinners from last season, juniors Kelcee Keenan and Erica Hannemann, and sophomore Jasmine Trier, will be joined for this year's team by five freshmen, Aldea, Garcia, Megan Munoz, Brandi Witte, and Ciera Johnson.
The men, who finished eighth at the Sam Houston Invitational, are looking for a better finish at the championship, as well. Last year, they finished fifth among eight teams with 128 points. UTEP captured first place on the men's side last year.
For the men, junior Ahmed Harb, the 2006 C-USA Third Team Cross-Country honoree, finished the 2007 championships in 16th place with a time of 26:47.30. Junior Antony Keller finished in 42nd place with a time of 28:56.10.
Five freshmen men, Nate Pineda, Jesse Rodriguez, Stephan Keller, Anthony Jordan, and Cole Bessner will join junior transfer Mauricio Morales, Harb and Keller for this year's team.
For a recap of the event, go to www.UHCougars.com for recap information, following the meet.
Fans can also visit www.ConferenceUSA.com, and click on the Championships link for Championship Central information about the meet.
Up Next
The Cougars will travel to Waco, Texas on Nov. 15 to compete in the NCAA South Central Regional.
Players Mentioned
