Sept. 6, 2008

Abilene, Texas – The West Texas A&M men’s cross country team placed third, overall, at the Abilene Christian Cross Country Classic, held Saturday on the Sherrod Park course in Abilene, Texas.

The Buffs’ team total of 90 points trailed only perennial powerhouse Abilene Christian (22 pts.) and South Plains College (33 pts.). ACU is the defending NCAA Division II national champion, while SPC is the defending JUCO national champion.

Top scorer for WT was Jose Velazquez (Senior, Hereford, Texas), who placed 13th with a time of 21:54.56 over the four-mile course. Thomas Harris (Sophomore, Amarillo, Texas) was 17th with a clocking of 22.33.18,  Andrew Striley (Freshman, Amarillo, Texas) placed 18th with a 22:36.53, Jose Huerta (Junior, Hereford, Texas) recorded a time of 22:52.42 to place 20th and Jarret Kachel (Junior, Hooker, Okla.) rounded out the scorers, placing 22nd with a time of 23:13.25. Also competing for the Buffs were Matt Kopansky (Freshman, Toronto, Ontario), who finished 23rd (23:13.27, Isai Saucedo (Sophomore, Bovina, Texas), 29th, 23:46.54, Erick Huerta (Sophomore, Hereford, Texas), 40th, 23:24.25, Jesse Maldonando (Freshman, Hereford, Texas), 44th, 26:13.19 and Luis Flores (Sophomore, Booker, Texas), 45th, 26:14.86.

“I was very pleased with our performance today," said WT head coach Paul Sweetgall. "Our team was anxious to compete after last weekend’s home meet was cancelled due to the weather.

"Our four returnees have improved significantly over a year ago. We also had a few newcomers who really stepped up and ran well. We had six runners finish within 1:20 of each other, and expect to have eight within that span during our next meet. Having ten runners who competed may be an unofficial record for our cross country program. That level of participation shows how far our program has progressed during the past year.”

The Buffs return to action on Sept. 19, when they compete in the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock, Texas.

TEAM RESULTS: 1. Abilene Christian 22, 2. South Plains JC 33, 3. WTAMU 90, 4. Eastern New Mexico 104, 5. Lubbock Christian 135, 6. Odessa College 178.