Oct. 26, 2007

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will play host to the Southland Conference Cross Country Championship Saturday here. The men's 8,000-meter race will start at 8 a.m. and the women 6,000-meter race is scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m.

Lamar is the defending champion in both the men's and women's division. UT Arlington took third place in the women's race a year ago at Nacogdoches, Texas while the Maverick men finished tied for fourth.

This year, the men's team is ranked eighth in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) south poll for Oct. 22. Senior Jody Broccoli-Hickey and junior Idilio Campos had finished first or second for the Mavericks in each race this season.

TAMUCC junior Shadrack Songok looks to become a two-time all-American and is a favorite to win the men's race. So far this season, Songok has three victories this fall, including the title at the prestigious 2007 Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 13. He has been name the SLC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week this season.

He will be backed up by teammate Samuel Kosgei and Francis Kasagule.

The UT Arlington women have been led by freshman Annabelle Everitt. TheCollege Station native has posted three top-30 performances this season.

Injuries have plagued the team this season. Sophomore Caroline Erlingson, who finished fourth at the UT Arlington Opener on Sept. 8, has missed the past two meets due to injury. Also, sophomore Ida Landgraff has missed the entire season with an injury, but head track and field coach John Sauerhage said there is a possibility that Landgraff could participate in the final meet of the season. Senior Magan Moore, a transfer from SMU, missed one meet this season with a minor injury. She finished 135th at the Chili Pepper Festival two weeks ago with a time of 23:51.6 over the 6,000-meter course.

A&MCC is ranked sixth in the region. The Islanders are led by junior Meghan Lemke, who finished in the top10 in three of four races this fall.

Lamar, ranked 11th, is led by junior Renee Graham and senior Clerc Koenck. Graham had two second-place finishes and took third at the NCAA Pre-Nationals (21:04) on October 13, and was a two-time athlete of the week winner. Meanwhile, Koenck, last season's defending champion, took first overall at Pre-Nationals (20:56) and won the last athlete of the week award in the conference.

Both teams will be without Sauerhage. He is attending the funeral of his mother who passed away on Wednesday.

Results for the championship will be posted online at http://www.flashresults.com/flashtexas/ as soon as possible on the day of the event.

utamavs.com