The SFA men’s and women’s cross country teams both made their mark in Waco this past weekend in the South Central Region Championships. The men’s team finished 14th after entering the weekend unranked. The women took home a 19th placed finish.
Max Murphy (32:39:6) led the way for the men, earning 51st place. “Max was really working hard through a difficult competition,” says head coach Rob Hansen. “… And I thought he showed a ton of guts and poise.”
Titus Kiplagat (32:58:3) and Parker Jones (33:01:8) followed right behind Murphy with 63rd and 69th place finished respectively.
“(Jones) Also worked his way through the field in an impressive fashion. Credit to him for overcoming a tough season to battle through and earn successes during the championship season.”
For the women, it was Isabel Borrego (23:04:2) and Ally McCutcheon (23:14:5) leading the charge in 93rd and 101st.
“Conditions were less than ideal today and we threw times out the window,” Hansen continued. “I want to see positional racing and I felt like we came up a little short on that. Isabel and Ally made their way through the pack. Long term, we have the potential, but we need to smooth out our tactics a bit more.”
“Overall, I am proud of both groups. Coming in as a new head coach kind of late, there are definitely growing pains, but this group is resilient and I’m excited about the upcoming track season.”
