By Katherine Jamtgaard. FOLEY, Ala. — For the second consecutive year, the App State men’s and women’s cross country teams were the class of the conference, with the men polishing off a Sun Belt Championship three-peat Friday morning after the women captured their second consecutive Sun Belt title.
App State becomes the second program in Sun Belt history to sweep the men’s and women’s titles in back-to-back years, joining Little Rock, which accomplished the feat in 2001 and 2002.
MEN’S RECAP
Pack running was pivotal for the men’s team, which had five scoring runners finish in the top nine to come away with a team score of 32 points, 51 points better than second-place Arkansas State’s total. The Mountaineers had six runners place in the top 12, all ahead of the No. 2 runner from Arkansas State.
The Mountaineers’ margin of victory at the Graham Creek Nature Preserve was the third widest in the 48-year history of the event, topped only by South Alabama’s 62-point win in 2006 and Little Rock’s 59-point win in 2002. App State also became just the third Sun Belt men’s program to three-peat, joining WKU (1982-87) and USF (1988-90).
“They packed it up together and worked well together,” men’s distance coach Brad Herbster said. “Having an eight-or-nine-second gap from your No. 1 to No. 5 is really impressive. They ran fast, but they really worked well together. They communicated throughout the race and executed well.”
App State has now won five Men’s Sun Belt Championships, and the three consecutive team titles mark the program’s longest streak since winning six in a row from 2005-10.
Sophomore Henry Stark led the way for the Mountaineers by placing No. 4 with a personal-best time of 24:07 in the 8K race to earn the Sun Belt Men’s Elite Award. Freshman Noah Martinson stopped the clock with a career-low time of 24:09, good for No. 5 and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors.
Tate Shore also posted a career-best time, placing sixth in 24:12 while joining Stark and Martinson in earning first-team All-Sun Belt honors, while Thomas Wlazlowski (No. 8 in 24:16) and Ethan Lipham (No. 9 in 24:20) collected second-team all-conference honors.
Memphis Rich (No.12 in 24:38), Aaron Kidd (No. 17 in 24:53) and Chase Burrell (No. 18 in 24:54) also finished in the top 20 for App State.
Men’s Team Results
- App State – 32 points
- Arkansas State – 83 points
- ULM – 103 points
- Texas State – 121 points
- Louisiana – 133
- Marshall – 134
- South Alabama – 160
- Coastal Carolina – 165
- Troy – 204
App State All-Sun Belt Honorees
First Team – Henry Stark, Noah Martinson, Tate Shore
Second Team – Thomas Wlazlowski, Ethan Lipham, Memphis Rich
Third Team – Aaron Kidd, Chase Burrell
Men’s Freshman of the Year: Noah Martinson
Men’s Elite Award Winner: Henry Stark
WOMEN’S RECAP
The App State women didn’t have a top-10 finisher, but five Mountaineers placed in the top 20 en route to a team total of 77 points, 11 better than the second-place total from Southern Miss.
Even though eight schools had their No. 1 runner cross before the first Mountaineer, a complete team effort enabled App State to beat out the Golden Eagles, whose No. 3 runner finished behind the No. 5 and final scoring runner from App State.
“This has been a really fun group to work with all year,” women’s distance coach Annie Richards said. “I’m very proud of them and everything they’ve accomplished. Cross country is a very mental sport. It’s one that you have to put many months of preparation into to have a good result like we had today, so I’m obviously proud of how they performed on the course today, but I’m also proud of how they’ve carried themselves throughout the season.”
Freshman Tessa Massa finished No. 11 overall with a personal-best time of 17:39 and was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year.
Fellow freshman Josie Jackson finished No. 14 overall with a career-best time of 17:47 to join Massa as a second-team All-Sun Belt honoree. App State sophomores Savannah Moore (No. 15 in 17:51.00) and Breanna Budzinski (No. 17 in 17:51.50) and freshman Elizabeth McCart (No. 20 in 17:54) each posted personal-best finishes to earn third-team all-conference recognition while rounding out the scoring for the Mountaineers.
The women’s team also had a No. 36 finish from freshman Ashby Williams, a No. 37 finish from senior Amiyah Priebe and a No. 57 mark from freshman Allie Kinlaw.
App State will continue postseason competition at the NCAA Southeast Regional on Nov. 14, hosted by Virginia at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va. The women’s 6K is set for 10 a.m., with the men’ s 10K to follow at 11 a.m. Parking for the event is ticketed and must be purchased online in advance by Nov. 10.
Women’s Team Results
- App State – 77
- Southern Miss – 88
- Texas State – 98
- Louisiana – 101
- Arkansas State – 104
- James Madison – 141
- Coastal Carolina – 168
- Marshall – 192
- ULM – 197
- South Alabama – 293
- Georgia Southern – 346
- Georgia State – 354
- Troy – 361
App State All-Sun Belt Honorees
Second Team – Tessa Massa, Josie Jackson
Third Team – Savannah Moore, Bre Budzinski, Elizabeth McCart
Women’s Freshman of the Year: Tessa Massa
