Texan Cross Country Wins Region 5 Championship

November 2, 2009

ROSWELL, N.M. - The South Plains College Texans dominated the field and came within three points of a perfect team score on their way to claiming the Region 5 cross country championship in Roswell, New Mexico on Saturday.

Led by Tallam Kipruto's winning time of 25:58.00, the Texans claimed the top four spots in the race. Mitchell Driver covered the 8,000-meter course in 26:55, while Anthony Pequeno (27:13) and Tomilee Loyd (27:43) were third and fourth. Robert Castanon finished eighth overall in 28:20.

Marcelis Lynch (31:13) and Josh Harris (31:16) also competed for the Texans, finishing 23^rdand 24^th, respectively.

Led by freshman Lisa Forsberg, the Lady Texans finished second in the team standings with 57 points. Forsberg finished the race third overall, completing the 5,000-meter course in 18:42.00. Shayla Contreras (19:15) was ninth overall, while Paulina Wilson (19:40) and Kadian Dunkley (19:44) finished 13^th and 14^th. Crystal Dickinson (20:54) completed the team scoring with her 19^th place finish.

Lorianne Pattee (22:15) finished 29^th overall.

The cross country teams now have a week to prepare before the compete in the NJCAA cross country championships on November 14^th in Peoria, Illinois.