On Saturday, the ULM men’s and women’s cross country teamed traveled to Bowling Green, Ky., to compete in the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Championships hosted by Western Kentucky. At 10 a.m., ULM’s women team raced followed by the men at 11 a.m.
Competing as a team, the lady Warhawks finished last (12th) with 289 points. Georgia State won the conference with 52 points, followed by Arkansas State in second with 58 points and Western Kentucky in third with 83 points.
ULM junior Sharon Sason finished in 32nd place with a time of 19:24. ULM sophmore AnaKaren Lopez finished in 47th place wih a time of 19:59. Sophmore Teona Glave and freshman Rebecca Dark finished in 71st and 72nd place respectively, with times of 21:26 and 21:38.
Georgia State’s Katharine Showalter came in first place with a time of 17:41.
In second place with seven seconds off Showalter’s time was North Texas’ Josephine Adams. Coming in third place in the conference individually was sophomore Kristina Aubert with a time of 17:51.
On the men’s side, the Warhawks finished in eigth place with 183 points. Arkansas-Little Rock won the conference with 183 points, followed by North Texas in second with 85 points and Middle Tennessee State in third with 86 points.
The top returner from conference last year was ULM’s Daniel Mutai. Mutai continued to show his dominance as he finished second with a time of 24:55.
Mutai’s time was just nine seconds off of Western Kentucky’s Joseph Chebet. In third place was Middle Tennessee sophomore Robinson Simatei with a time of 25:13.
ULM sophomore Silah Chumba finished in 11th with a time of 25:54 and sophomore Hillary Kirwa finish 32nd with a time of 26:45.
Mutai has had arguably the best season ever ran by a Warhawk. He has three individual meet wins since he came to ULM. Mutai is also a two-time national meet qualifier.
Only nine seconds in the Sun Belt Championships kept him from becoming just the second ULM runner ever to win an individual conference championship.
No Warhawk has done so since the school joined the Sun Belt Conference. Mutai improved his finish by one place as he took home third at the meet a year ago.
