University of Houston
HBU Season Opener
Cougar Cross Sweeps HBU Season Opener
9/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
HOUSTON â€" The Houston Cougar men's and women's Cross Country teams opened the 2015 season with a sweep of the team titles at the HBU Season Opener, while junior Maddie Brown took home the women's individual title on Thursday.
"I'm really pleased," head Cross Country coach Steve Magness said. "On the women's side, having Maddie take the individual title was huge. Our freshmen ran out of their minds. They went three-four-five on the women's side. That's really good. Once we bring Selena Sierra and Ebony White and our other freshman Jahnavi Schneider into the mix we'll do some big things."
"On the men's side, we sat out our four top guys and still came away with Edwin finishing third and as the second college guy, and G.J. right behind him in fourth," Magness said. "Our second group really stepped up, and what that tells me is we're going to have a lot of depth this year. That's something we haven't ever had. It really sets the stage for great things."
The women began the night with a two-lap, 2K race around McGregor Park located nearby the University of Houston campus. Brown got off to a strong start and stayed among the leaders from start to finish. The Huffman, Texas native crossed the line in 11:56 to claim the title.
"This feels really good, and I'm excited," Brown said. "I worked really hard over the summer. It feels good to get back out there and race again after not doing as well as I had hoped last cross season."
The Cougar women finished the overall race with 23 points and had three runners place in the top-5. Alongside Brown, a pair of freshmen, Meredith Sorensen (12:11) and Nikita Prasad (12:21) finished fourth and fifth respectively. Sophomore Emely Morgado (eighth, 12:44) and freshman Jennifer Dunlap (ninth, 12:52) rounded out the scoring for the women.
Junior Edwin Munoz made a big impression in his Houston debut with a time of 15:54 in the men's 3K. The transfer from Stephen F. Austin, was the Cougars' top finisher in third place, while freshman G.J. Reyna finished right on his heels, in fourth place, with a time of 16:01. The Cougars won the team competition with 28 points as Gabe Lara (16:13) and Zachary Stewart (16:21) finished ninth and 10th respectively, and freshman Kody Anderson rounded out the scoring with a 13th place finish in 16:36.
"The first mile was a little slow and we were all just chilling in the back," Munoz said. "As soon as we hit a mile and a half I just took off and saw who would go with me. It turned out pretty good."
The Cougars also swept all five matchups of the dual meets, with the women knocking off Houston Baptist and Sam Houston State, and the men defeating Houston Baptist, Sam Houston State and Texas Southern. The women defeated the Huskies 17-to-41, and beat the Bearkats 21-to-36. The men took care of Houston Baptist 21-to-37, the Bearkats 22-to-37, and the Tigers 15-48.
WOMEN'S RESULTS
1. Maddie Brown, 11:56
3. Meredith Sorensen, 12.11
4. Britani Gonzales (Unattached), 12:19
5. Nikita Prasad, 12:21
8. Emely Morgado, 12:44
9. Jennifer Dunlap, 12:52
10. Meschelle Roe (Unattached), 13:02
14. Maria Gonzales, 13:18
18. Kyndall Tyler, 13:34
20. Mackenzie Ilari, 14:01
MEN'S RESULTS
3. Edwin Munoz, 15:54
4. G.J. Reyna, 16:01
5. Alex Arnold (Unattached), 16:03
9. Gabe Lara, 16:13
10. Zachary Stewart, 16:21
13. Kody Anderson, 16:36.03
15. Matt Parmley, 16:36.91
19. Cameron Laverty (Unattached), 16:57
20. Justin Barrett, 17:05
IN THE CLASSROOM
Following the 2014 season, the Cougar Men's Cross Country team was honored by the NCAA for perfect Academic Progress Report Scores with the NCAA Public Recognition Award. The award marked the second straight year the men have been honored for ranking among the top-10 percent of all cross country programs in APR.
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Players Mentioned
