Texans place first, Lady Texans second at the SPC Open on Saturday in Levelland

LEVELLAND—The South Plains College men's and women's cross country teams were back in action on Saturday on their home course at the 2017 South Plains College Open at Brashear Lake Park.

Ranked third in the latest USTFCCCA national polls, the Texans protected their home course and picked up their fifth consecutive first-place finish placing four runners inside the top 10.

Sophomore All-American Felix Kosgei set a new course record with a time of 25:24.80 in the men's 8k. South Plains' Andrew Bosquez took third with a time of 25:52.90, while the Texans' Filmon Beyene earned a fourth-place finish with his time of 26:13.50. Jessie Madrid crossed the finish line at the 27:09.10 mark, placing ninth overall as the Texans finished with an average team time of 26:26.26.

"Our guys went out and competed on a new course and picked up another victory for us," South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. "Felix continues to run tough and I thought the guys as a group really got after it and ran well for us. They've shown what they're capable of so far and we'll see what they can do the next couple of weeks."

The Lady Texans placed second overall in the women's 5k led by sophomore standout Leslie Romero. The Houston native finished third overall with a final mark of 18:35.70. South Plains' Seselia Dala finished with a final time of 19:15.10, good enough for sixth overall, while Poro Gahekave placed ninth with a time of 19:47.30. The Lady Texans finished with an average team time of 20:05.82. Wayland Baptist placed first and finished with an average team time of 19:38.68.

"Our girls went out and clipped New Mexico again, and we got beat by a good Wayland team who had a little more depth than us today," Vance said. "I thought they went out and got after it and they're a tough group of girls. They never seem to back down from anyone and do all they can every week to put it on the line, and it's definitely going to be fun to see what they can do the next couple of weeks."

South Plains will be back on the course next week when they travel to Hobbs for the University of the Southwest Open on Friday, Oct. 13.