Cross country teams compete in championship
The Rice University men’s and women’s cross-country team competed in the Conference USA Cross Country Championship at the University of North Texas this weekend. The women’s team placed second overall in the meet with 62 points, trailing only Middle Tennessee State University with 55 points. The men’s team placed fourth in the meet, led by redshirt junior Will Firth, who finished sixth overall and had the best finish in the conference tournament in Rice history with a time of 24:29 in the 8K race.
Sophomore Cali Roper led the women’s team with a first place individual finish with a time of 16:43, a full seven seconds faster than Middle Tennessee sophomore Hannah Maina’s second place finish. Roper’s time was the fourth-fastest mark in C-USA championship history for a 5K race. Roper was also the only Owl in Rice’s history to finish first at a C-USA title race and the second Owl to claim an individual cross-country title.
Along with Roper, sophomore Katie Jensen and freshman Madi McLellan received First Team All-Conference Honors. Jensen finished fifth with a time of 16:59, and McLellan finished sixth with a time of 17:08.
Along with Firth, who earned first team All-Conference Honors, sophomore Adam Davidson earned a spot on the second team All-Conference team by finishing in 11th place in 24:47. Freshmen Steve Booker and Brad Dohner earned third team All-Conference honors after finishing with times of 25:09 and 25:10, respectively.
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams will next compete in the NCAA South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Nov. 14.
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