Athletic Report
October 21, 2000

ENMU MEN FINISH 7TH, WOMEN 10TH AT LONE STAR CONFERENCE MEET
ABILENE, TX — The Eastern New Mexico University men’s cross country team took 7th place out of 9 teams and the ENMU women’s cross country team finished 10th out of 11 teams at the 2000 Lone Star Conference Cross Country Championship at Sherrod Park in Abilene, Texas. Abilene Christian University, which hosted the event, won the men’s division with a perfect team score of 15. The University of Central Oklahoma won the women’s team title with a score of 47.

In the men’s race, Abilene Christian’s victorious score was 40 less than Angelo State University’s 2nd place score of 65. Even so, Angelo State held nearly a 30-point margin over Central Oklahoma in 3rd place at 103. East Central University finished fourth at 113, West Texas A&M University was 5th at 127, Texas A&M University - Commerce took 6th at 129, Eastern New Mexico was 7th at 192, Texas A&M-University - Kingsville placed 8th at 215 and Tarleton State University was 9th at 230.

Eastern’s top individual finisher for the men’s team was Walter Marler (Fr., Carlsbad, NM/ Carlsbad H.S.), who took 28th with a time of 30:15.57 for the 8-kilometer course. Frank Reck (Fr., Louise, TX/Louise H.S.) finished 37th in 30:57.38, and David Gonzalez (Jr., Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad H.S.) placed 38th in 30:59.22. Other runners for ENMU in the men’s race were Michael Hendrix (Fr., Lubbock, TX/Frenship H.S.), who took 43rd in 32:31.35, and Keith Clark (Fr., Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad H.S.), who took 46th in 35:17.45.

The individual champion in the men’s division was Alfred Rugema of Abilene Christian, who clocked in at 25:05.74. John Kemboi, also of ACU, took 2nd in 25:34.47, while ACU’s Gilbert Tuhabonye finished 3rd in 26:25.63.

In the women’s race, Central Oklahoma won by just three points over Southeastern Oklahoma State University, which took 2nd place with a score of 50. Abilene Christian took 3rd place at 104, while TAMU-Commerce concluded the race in 4th place at 152. Angelo State was 5th at 155, Tarleton State took 6th at 157, East Central was 7th at 170, West Texas A&M finished 8th at 180, TAMU-Kingsville was 9th at 198, Eastern New Mexico took 10th at 239 and Southwestern Oklahoma State University was 11th at 248.

ENMU’s leading runner in the women’s division was Mindy Clark (Sr., Carlsbad, NM/ Carlsbad H.S.), who completed the course in 26:53.91 and finished 31st. Colleen Banet (So., Albuquerque, NM/Eldorado H.S.) took 41st in 27:43.26. Nicole Sandoval (Fr., Aztec, NM/Aztec H.S.) was 43rd in 27:50.43, while Sammi Lee (So., Aztec, NM/Aztec H.S.) finished 61st in 30:17.35 and Jerrilene Begay (Jr., Crownpoint, NM/Crownpoint H.S.) took 63rd with a time of 31:05.72. Also running for ENMU was Jacqueline Atkins (So., Espanola, NM/Pojoaque H.S.), who placed 69th in 35:18.61.

Romy Kruger, a freshman from Central Oklahoma, led the Lady Bronchos to the LSC championship by winning the women’s individual title in 23:40.54 over the 6-kilometer course. Justine Nahimana of Abilene Christian earned 2nd place with a time of 24:08.05. Nicole Sharp of Southeastern Oklahoma claimed 3rd place in 24:25.46.

Several of ENMU’s top runners will compete at the NCAA Division II Regional Cross Country Meet in Commerce, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 4. The men’s and women’s races will both be held at the Texas A&M-Commerce Cross Country Course on the A&M-C campus.