Hear from seniors and watch highlights.
The men’s and women’s cross-country teams captured the 2021 Red River Athletic Conference Championships this morning. These titles are the seventh for each program – the men have won seven in a row (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) and the women have won seven of the last nine (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021).
The men marked 15 points, followed by the University of the Southwest, 73 points; Xavier University of Louisiana, 74 points; Wiley College, 90 points; Huston-Tillotson University, 115 points; and Jarvis Christian College, 155 points.
Capturing the individual title for the men in the 8k was Jose Zarate, whose time was 25:21. He was followed by OLLU’s Julio Sanchez (25:30), Nathaniel Rodriguez (26:03), JoseCarlos Hernandez (26:07), Isaac Martinez (26:13), Hendrick Ramirez (26:36.2), Diego Moran (26:36.3), Antonio Bustamante (26:36.7), Joseph Gonzalez (26:59) and Hector Puente (27:17). All 10 from OLLU made up the All-Conference team. Bustamante and Hernandez’s finishes were personal records. Sanchez won the Runner-Up and Freshman of the Year awards.
Head Coach Patrick Torres, named Coach of the Year, commented, “I’m proud of our performance. It’s a special day when you can perfect score and put a whole team on the all-conference awards stand. Congratulations to our overall champion Jose Zarate and Freshman of the Year, Julio Sanchez. We had an outstanding race top to bottom, but those two went out and pushed each other up front. I’m proud of our men’s team.”
The women recorded a score of 18 points in the 5k. They were followed by Xavier, 55 points; Southwest, 69 points; and Huston-Tillotson, 80 points.
Winning the individual championship was Nadia Sifuentes, who marked a time of 18:50. She was followed by OLLU’s Jasmine Hernandez (20:08.6), Southwest’s Samantha Jasso (20:21), OLLU’s Peyton Lammons (20:26), Viridiana Zuniga (20:35), Lindsey Broussard (20:42), Xavier’s Skylah Barton (21:02) and LeilaniCyan Johnson-Gordon (21:20), OLLU’s Sierra Ramirez (22:15) and Xavier’s Bria Gaines (22:21). All 10 made the All-Conference team. Lammons’ and Zuniga’s times were personal records. Hernandez won the Runner-Up and Freshman of the Year awards.
Torres, who received Coach of the Year honors, said, “We ran really well. It’s tough to stay competitive in such a small race, but we did, and all the credit goes to our girls for putting themselves in the right headspace. I’m lucky to have the group we have this year. Thank you to our women’s Assistant Coach Jazmine Garcia. Her short time with the team so far has made a huge impact. Nadia and Jasmine took home individual champion and freshman of the year, respectively, and to do that on a day like today really shows how mentally strong we are.”
The men will get set for the 66th Annual NAIA Men’s Cross-Country National Championship on Nov. 19 in Vancouver, Wash., while the women will prepare for the 44th Annual NAIA Women’s Cross-Country National Championship also on Nov. 19 in Vancouver, Wash.