Lady Texans roll to victory at Region 5 Cross Country Championships

EL PASO - The South Plains College Lady Texan cross country team proved why they are the fourth-ranked team in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and why they are potential contenders for next month's NJCAA championships when they cruised to the team title at the Region 5 cross country championships Saturday morning with a total team score of 27 points.

All five scoring runners finished inside the top 10 and the SPC women were once again led by sophomore Darroneshia Lott.

Lott won the individual title by nearly one-minute, crossing the finish line in a season best time of 17 minutes, 49 seconds on the 5,000-meter course. The victory is Lott's second consecutive and third this season.

Desreen Montague (18:47) and Ekaterina Miroshnikova (19:02) also set season bests, finishing third and fourth overall while Maddie Kauffman (20:03) and Sarah Peterson (20:05) rounded out the team scoring with ninth and 10th place finishes.

Michaela Johnson (20:06) and Brittany Letts (20:39) also competed for the Lady Texans.

Leading the way for the Texans was Zach Daniel (27:43). Daniel snuck into the top 10 with a tenth place finish overall and was followed by Marco Arias (28:15) in 15th; Kin Scott (28:20) in 16th; Cordaryl Whitehead in 17th; and Eladio Perez (28:56) in 20th.

The texans finished in third place in the team standings with 78 points.

Brandon Bernal (21st) and Anderson Charles (22nd) also competed.

The Texan and Lady Texan cross country teams will next compete at the NJCAA Cross Country championships in Ina, Ill. on Nov. 10 before hosting the NJCAA Half Marathon Championships on Nov. 17.