Goule, Campbell sweep NJCAA cross country individual championships

HOBBS, N.M. - Sophomore cross country runners Natoya Goule and Kemoy Campbell improved upon last year's NJCAA cross country runner-up performances when they claimed the men's and women's individual titles at Ocotillo Golf Course.  

Goule, along with freshman Darroneshia Lott, went straight to the front. It did not take long for Goule to gap the field and she went on to win by nearly 20-seconds with a time of 18 minutes, 45.16 seconds over the 5,000-meter course. The victory is Goule's seventh NJCAA title in cross country and track.

Lott ran in second for much of the race, but at one point faded to fifth, made a late charge to the finish line to finish third in 19:07.44. Sophomore Kirsten Taylor had a top-10 finish, crossing the line sixth with the clock stopping at 19:13.01.

Michaela Johnson (21:13.74) and Britney Shedd (22:07.50) were the fourth and fifth scoring runners for the Lady Texans, finishing 64th and 119th, respectively. Kateland Maddox(22:25.06) also competed for SPC and was the 134th competitor to cross the line.

The No. 1 ranked Lady Texans fell short of winning the team championship, finishing fourth with 152 team points.

Similar to Goule, Campbell took early control of the men's race and never looked back, cruising to a 38-second victory. Campbell's completed the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25:22.08.

Isaac Placencia finished just outside the top-20, crossing the line 21st with a time of 27:31.04.Bretton Villarreal was the third SPC competitor to cross the line with a 51st place finish and a time of 28:11.27. Jonathan Lira (29:16.60) and Rene Escobedo (30:43.41) rounded out the team scoring for the Texans with finishes of 120th and 204th. 

Also running for the Texans at the NJCAA Cross Country Championships were Anthonio Mascoll (31:40.64) and Luke Samarron (31:59.15) who finished 212th and 243rd.

The No. 10 ranked Texans finished with 364 team points to finish 11th overall.

The Texan and Lady Texans are not quite done with their season yet. They will take a slightly smaller group to Marietta, Ga., to compete in the NJCAA Half-Marathon Championships November 19. The Lady Texans tied for the Half-Marathon Championship in 2010.

Lady Texan All-Americans
Natoya Goule - NJCAA Champion
Darroneshia Lott - 3rd Place
Kirsten Taylor - 6th Place

Texan All-Americans
Kemoy Campbell - NJCAA Champion
Isacc Placencia - 21st Place

All-American awards are given to the top-15 overall as well as the top-15 overall American athletes.