Nov. 7, 2009

ABILENE, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffalo cross country team finished in 17th place at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Cross Country Championships held this morning on a 10K course on the campus of Abilene Christian University.

“This was our first 10k race of the season. Thomas (Harris) improved his regional time by 90 seconds over a year ago. Andrew (Striley) was a full minute faster than last year." said WT head coach Paul Sweetgall "A third returnee is Jarret Kachel who was our fifth runner today. His time was almost 40 seconds better than a year ago. That’s phenomenal. I can’t argue with those results.”

Missouri Southern took first in the event with a total of 56 points followed by Southwest Baptist with 81 and Pittsburg State with 86. The top three teams along with the top 10 individuals advance to the National Meet held on the campus of Southern Indiana next weekend.

“Rolando (Vasquez) and Thomas (Harris) ran great races today. Both had their best efforts of the season. Andrew (Striley) also ran a very good race" said Sweetgall "Lack of depth has been our downfall all season long. When the whole group doesn’t run its best, our point total suffers.”

WT was led by Rolando Vasquez (JR, Altus, Oklahoma) in 47nd place with a time of 33:27 followed by teammate Thomas Harris (JR, Amarillo, Texas) in 65th place with a time of 34:01.

“I’m very pleased with our season as a whole. Our finish today does not reflect what these guys have accomplished this year. We’ve come a long way with a group of middle distance runners mixed in with long distance runners" said Sweetgall "The middle distance group can’t wait to get back on the track and run the quicker events. Our recruiting will be pointed towards adding true distance runners who will make us more competitive next fall.”