UWF Cross Country Men and Women Take 3rd Place in the Conference Meet :: Argos place four runners on the All-Conference team and earn a spot in the regional meet.

Argos place four runners on the All-Conference team and earn a spot in the regional meet.

Oct. 20, 2007

HOOVER, Ala. - The West Florida men's and women's cross country teams both finished in third place at the Gulf South Conference Championships in Hoover, Alabama. The race was held Saturday morning at Veteran's Park, with 15 teams competing for the championship. Diana Sitar earned 1st Team All-GSC, while Brian Gowin, Nicholas Maedel, and Margaret Harter each earned 2nd Team ALL-GSC. Coach Matt Dobson sounded very pleased, "I'm happy with the way we ran, to have four make all conference. We proved we are one of the top teams in the conference for cross country."

In the men's 8k race, Alabama Huntsville ended a seven year championship run by Harding, by outscoring them 40-48. It was the first ever championship for UAH in cross country. West Florida was third with a score of 98, while Christian Brothers (110) was fourth, and West Georgia (125) finished fifth. Harding's James Cheruiyot won the event for the second time in three years with a time of 25:35. The Argos Brian Gowin finished in 12th place with a time of 27:34, and his teammate Nicholas Maedel was 16th in a time of 27:49. Gowin and Maedel finished well enough to qualify for 2nd team ALL-GSC honors.

In the women's 5k race, Harding won the GSC championship for the third straight year with a score of 31, to edge out Alabama Huntsville with 32. The West Florida women finished third with a 121 score, while Southern Arkansas (144) was fourth, and North Alabama (154) was fifth, in the 15 team event. The Argos Diana Sitar finished in 8th place with a time of 19:43 to claim 1st Team ALL-GSC honors. Margaret Harter was 18th in a time of 20:15 to qualify for 2nd Team ALL-GSC honors. Harding's Janee Jones was the individual champion for the second straight year with a time of 18:08 for the 3.1 miles.

The strength for the West Florida men was the pack of five runners between 22nd and 38th place. Justin Gates finished 22nd in 28:12, while Josh McEachin was right behind in 23rd place with a time of 28:22. Jared Black rounded out the scoring five for the Argos with a 25th place finish in 28:35. By finishing ahead of Christian Brothers and Southern Arkansas, the men guaranteed their spot in the regional meet in two weeks in Huntsville, Alabama.

Coach Dobson feels good about the men's position. "We have relied on some young runners and we can build on this success. We also will have Senior Jordan Theuerkauf back to run for us at regionals, which will only make us stronger." Junior Eric Mayes finished 33rd in 28:53, and Freshmen Sean Jansen rounded out the UWF Men's finishers with a 38th place finish in 29:25.

For the West Florida women, finishing third as a team was due to the strong races from their top five. In addition to Sitar and Harter; Rebecca Thielemann finished in 27th place with a time of 20:49, followed by Katherine Ragia (29th) in 20:57, and Kelli Midden (39th) in 21:18. Also finishing were Erika Anderson (54th) in 22:01 and Lindsey Failing (78th) in 23:28.

Coach Dobson was proud of the women, "They ran the best they could with all they have been through. Running on injuries, they stepped up and did outstanding. The girls have improved each of the last three years, and today gave the girls a lot of confidence, to overcome some self doubt due to injuries."

Both the men and women will now prepare for the Regional meet in Huntsville, Alabama on November 3rd. The top three teams in the regional meet will qualify for the National meet. Coach Dobson is confident his squads will be competitive in the regional race.