The Wildcat men’s cross-country team captured its 19th consecutive Lone Star Conference title at the LSC Championships in Canyon last weekend.
The victory maintained the longest streak of consecutive conference titles in NCAA Division II and ensured a run of dominance that began in 1991 would not end with this season. Head Coach Sam Burroughs, in just his second season as head coach, saw his team recover from an up-and-down season to give a dominating performance at the conference meet.
“From an overall team perspective, we ran really well,” Burroughs said. “It feels really good to keep the streak going. I wasn’t here for the first 17 championships, but it’s good to be a part of the tradition.”
The Wildcats have spent much of the season hampered by injuries. The 2009 LSC Championships were the first chance the team had to compete together as a healthy unit. National polls predicted the Wildcats would face a stiff challenge from Tarleton State; the Wildcats entered as the nation’s No.18 team, while Tarleton held the No. 17 ranking.
The Wildcats proved the pollsters wrong by running away from Tarleton State and the rest of the LSC field. ACU collected only 33 points, while second-place Tarleton State lagged far behind with 75 total points.
ACU’s Amos Sang captured the individual title in 24:44.0 with his teammate Cleophas Tanui crossing the line second in 25:21.0. Sang’s triumph extended ACU’s streak of individual conference champions to nineteen consecutive wins. Freshman Colby Delbene crossed the line in fifth place with a time of 26:04.0.
“Amos is where I expected him to be, head and shoulders above the rest of the field,” Burroughs said. “Cleophas and Colby also finished right about where I expected.”
The Wildcat’s other two top-five finishers were Daniel Maina and freshman Spencer Lynn. Maina finished 12th in a time of 26:41.0, and Lynn finished right behind him in 13th with a time of 26:46.0. Jacob Schofield and Will Pike finished 34th and 36th, respectively, but did not finish among ACU’s top five runners, and thus, their points did not count toward the overall team score.
Lynn, a native of White Oak, caught the attention of his head coach. His 13th place finish far exceeded expectations, prompting Burroughs to call Lynn the “standout of the race.”
On the women’s side, a tough season continued. The Wildcats finished in eighth place with a score of 193. Midwestern State secured back-to-back team titles with a score of 70 points. Angelo State finished second with a score of 73 points.
Freshman Chloe Susset continued to be a bright spot for the women’s team. Susset crossed the line in sixth place with a solid time of 24:12.2. She was honored among the top individual finishers and was named to the all-Conference team.
Next up for the cross-country teams is the 2009 NCAA South Central Regional tournament Nov. 7 at Grover Nelson Park.
