Women’s Cross Country Wins First ASC Crown; Men Finish Second
October 31, 2009

CLINTON, Miss. - The University of Texas at Tyler women’s cross country team won its first-ever conference title on Saturday, while the men finished second at the 2009 American Southwest Conference Championships at Mississippi College's Choctaw Trails in Clinton.

Freshman Jessica Waninger (Tyler, Texas) led the Patriots on the day with a fourth place finish in a time of 25:44. Waninger was followed closely in the race by freshman Ginny Murphy (Ovilla, Texas) in fifth place and junior Natalie Holcomb (Whitehouse, Texas) in seventh place.

Junior Sarah Hankla (Tyler, Texas) was the fourth finisher for UT Tyler in 11th place, while freshman Jessica Ball (Daingerfield, Texas) rounded out the scoring for the Patriots in 13th place.

The women’s win on Saturday marks the fifth consecutive ASC Championship for one of head coach Bob Hepler’s squads, as the UT Tyler men won each of the past four ASC titles.

In the men’s race, sophomore Jeff Chandler (Longview, Texas) finished in second place with a time of 28:11 to lead the Patriots for the fourth time this season.

Junior Ross Renfroe (Tyler, Texas) followed Chandler in fifth place, while freshman Will Krogman (Mesquite, Texas) and junior Mark Saroni (Mesquite, Texas) finished in 12th and 13th places, respectively.

Senior Philbert Mutuyimana (Phoenix, Ariz) was the final finisher for the Patriots in a time of 30:30, which put him in 18th place.

In the women’s individual awards, Waninger was named as the ASC Freshman of the Year, while Holcomb took home the ASC Newcomer of the Year award.

In All-Conference honors, Chandler, Holcomb, Murphy, Renfroe and Waninger were all named to the first team, while Ball, Hankla, Krogman and Saroni were named to the second team.

Both teams will now take one week off before traveling to Guilford, N.C., on Nov. 14 for the 2009 NCAA Division III South/Southeast Regionals at Guilford College.

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