October 18, 2008
DALLAS – Jessie Smith finished 15th overall to lead the way as St. Mary’s University finished sixth as a team at the Heartland Conference Cross Country Championships, Saturday morning on the Dallas Baptist University campus.
Smith (Sr., Boerne) covered the six-kilometer course in 25:18 to place 15th overall. Hannah Steffan of Dallas Baptist University ran away with the individual title, defeating teammate Linet Kibet by 17 seconds.
Amy Crissman (Jr., San Antonio) finished in 19th place with a 26:03. Melissa Recio (Sr., Laredo) was 33rd with a time of 28:21, Katrina White (So., San Antonio) was 43rd with a 30:19, Amanda Benavides (Sr., San Antonio) was 44th a 30:30, Alyssa Alfaro (So., Eagle Pass) was 45th with a 30:54 and Courtney Deane (Jr., El Paso) was 47th with a 34:42.
In the team competition, Dallas Baptist had five runners in the top 10 to easily win the team title with 23 points. Newman University was second with 63, the University of the Incarnate Word was third with 87 points, Lincoln University was fourth with 97 points, Texas A&M International University finished fifth with 142 points, St. Mary’s was sixth with 154 points, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin was seventh with 157 points, Oklahoma Panhandle State University finished eighth with 203 points and St. Edward’s University was ninth.
The Rattlers will wrap up the 2008 season when they compete at the NCAA South Central Region Championships in San Antonio on Nov. 8.