Tag Archives: Cross-Country

Saints finish 2022 campaign at NAIA National Cross-Country Championships

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The men’s cross-country team took 27th place out of 34 teams in the 67th Annual NAIA Men’s Cross-Country National Championship at Apalachee Regional Park on Friday. The Saints recorded the best team finish in school history.

The Saints finished with a team score of 728 points in the 8k with a total time of 2:11.22 and an average of 26:16.

Head Coach Patrick Torres said, “There’s not a lot you can be upset about when you finish the best in school history. I think this squad will have a chance to be special in the years to come.”

OLLU’s Jose Zarate was the Saints’ top finisher with a 64th place finish of 318 runners. Zarate’s 25:11.6 time set the Saints highest individual finish ever at nationals. Next was Hendrick Ramirez, 200th place, with a time of 26:22.9. He was followed by Diego Moran with a time of 26:25.6, Jayden Turrubiates with a time of 26:35.5, JoseCarlos Hernandez with a time of 26:47.4, Jose Saucedo with a time of 26:48.9 and Kruz Malesich with a time of 27:18.7.

The women’s cross-country meet followed, and the team finished in 35th place out of 36 teams. OLLU completed the race with a team score of 1,018 points in the 5k. They had a total time of 1:43.07 and an average of 20:37.

Deandra Ibarra crossed the finish line first for the Saints in 176th place at 19:31. Viridiana Zuniga followed in 289th place with a time of 20:47.6. She was followed by Sierra Ramirez with a time of 20:48.8, Nadia Sifuentes with a time of 20:54.3, Robbie Sue Espericueta with a time of 21:06, Mia Curiel with a time of 21:10.8 and Kennedy Villalpando with a time of 21:19.5.

Torres addressed the women’s results saying, “We learned a lot about ourselves today and most of this group will be back to improve upon what we did this year.”

Men’s and women’s cross-country participate in Texas A&M University meet

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The men’s and women’s cross-country teams participated in the Texas A&M University Arturo Barrios Invitational on Saturday.

The men’s team finished in 31st place out of 40 teams in the 8K. The women’s team finished in 33rd place out of 38 teams in the 6K.

The event featured mostly NCAA D1 schools. The only other NAIA school participating was Texas A&M University-Texarkana, which placed 36th.

Read more about the men’s showing in the meet.

Read more about the women’s showing in the meet.

Men’s cross-country is runner-up at UIW Twilight Meet 

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The Saints men’s cross-country team opened its 2022 season at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) Cross-Country Twilight Meet on Friday. 

OLLU placed second overall in the 6k behind first-place UIW. The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, North Texas University, Trinity University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas State University, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Texas Lutheran University followed OLLU. 

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “Our men getting second overall and beating NCAA D1 teams was phenomenal. This is the fittest we’ve ever started a season. Jose Zarate set the tone as our lead runner but today our freshmen group really stepped up. It was a good opener for us.” 

Jose Zarate finished fifth among a slate of 83 runners. His time of 18:39.2 breaks a record set in 2013 by Jonathan Yanez, who ran his 6k in 20:11.70. 

Jayden Turrubiates placed ninth with a time of 19:08.2. Matthew Trevino‘s time of 19:17.5 gave him a 15th place finish. Other Saints results are as follows: Diego Moran, 19:32.4 – 22nd place; Hendrick Ramirez, 19:36.0 – 24th place; Kruz Malesich, 19.46.7 – 31st place; Jose Saucedo, 19:53.6 – 34th place; Sebastian Moreno, 20:41.1 – 53rd place; Robert Rios, 22:00.7 – 75th place. 

What’s next 

The Saints will run at the Concordia Classic at Concordia University-Texas in Austin on Sept. 23. 

Women’s cross-country had big performances at UIW Twilight 

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The Saints women’s cross-country team opened its 2022 season at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) Cross-Country Twilight Meet on Friday. 

OLLU placed fifth overall in the 4k behind first-place UIW, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Trinity University and the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. Following OLLU were North Texas University and Texas Lutheran University. 

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “Getting such big performances from freshmen especially when we had a few key runners out for various reasons really bodes well for us. Deandra Ibarra took care of business as our low stick, and when we can put a few more around her who were out this race, I like our chances against anyone.” 

Deandra Ibarra finished 11th among a slate of 70 runners. Her time of 15:06.3 breaks a record set in 2021 by Nadia Sifuentes, who ran her 4k with a time of 15:12.5. 

Mia Curiel placed 30th with a time of 15:51.7. Other Saints results are as follows: Leilani Leza, 16:03.7 – 35th place; Viridiana Zuniga, 16:24.8 – 45th place; Sierra Ramirez, 16:27.3 – 46th place; Kennedy Villalpando, 16:42.5 – 54th place; Robbie Sue Espericueta, 16:57.4 – 59th place; Liliana Hernandez, 18:09.2 – 62nd place. 

What’s next 

The Saints will run at the Concordia Classic at Concordia University-Texas in Austin on Sept. 23. 

OLLU Cross-Country Begins Season on Sept. 2

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The Saints cross-country teams will start their 14th season and Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) title defense on Sept. 2 at the UIW Twilight. The women are scheduled to run the 4k at 8:45 p.m., and the men will follow in the 6k at 9:10 p.m.

Conference rankings
The men’s team, which has won seven conference championships in a row, has been selected to finish first in the conference preseason poll, followed by new conference opponent Texas A&M University – Texarkana, the University of the Southwest, Xavier University of Louisiana, Huston-Tillotson University and Jarvis Christian University (former Jarvis Christian College).

The women, who have won seven of the last nine conference championships, are picked second in the preseason poll. Newcomer Texarkana is selected first, and following the Saints are Xavier, Jarvis, Southwest and Huston-Tillotson.

Staff
Head Coach Patrick Torres begins his third season with OLLU. The men’s and women’s programs have thrived under Torres’ leadership, boasting the RRAC trophy and qualifying for the NAIA National Championships in his first two years. He earned coach of the year honors for both teams in 2020 and 2021.

Assistant Coach Brett Charlton also enters his third season. Charlton competed as a track and field athlete at Illinois State University and graduated from Eureka College in Eureka, Ill., before joining the Saints staff.

Newcomers
Torres and Charlton recruited 11 incoming freshmen for the 2022 campaign. Additions to the women’s team include Mia Curiel, Khristian Harden, Liliana Hernandez, Karla Herrera, Deandra Ibarra, Leilani Leza and Kennedy Vallalpando. The men’s program welcomes Jesse Morales, Sebastian Moreno, Jose Saucedo, Matthew Trevino and Jayden Turrubiates.

Men’s team returners
Returning is senior Nathaniel Rodriguez, while Jose Zarate returns for his fifth season after being granted another year of eligibility due to COVID. Transfer athlete Kruz Malesich is the lone junior, while JoseCarlos Hernandez, Diego Moran, Hendrick Ramirez and Robert Rios are back as sophomores. Also returning is Hector Puente. “We are bringing back a great returning group,” Torres commented.

Women’s team returners
The Saints welcome back solid performing seniors, including Lindsey Broussard, Robbie Sue Espericueta and Nadia Sifuentes. Senior Brianna Pantoja and junior Virdiana Zuniga ran track over the last few years and joined the cross-country team this season. Jasmine Hernandez and Sierra Ramirez round out the sophomore class.

Schedule overview
The teams open the season at the UIW Twilight on Sept. 2 at the University of the Incarnate Word. They will head to Pflugerville, Texas, on Sept. 23 to compete in the Concordia Classic at Concordia University Texas and back to UIW on Oct. 1 for the UIW Invitational.

The programs will host the Saints Invitational on Oct. 8. The highlight of the regular season will be at the Arturo Barrios Invitational at Texas A&M University in College Station on Oct. 15. The Saints will have a chance to compete among various NCAA D1 schools.

OLLU will close the season by hosting the RRAC Championships on Nov. 5.

Conference participants
Both programs finished first in the RRAC Championships last season. Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) finished second on the women’s side, followed by the University of the Southwest (USW) in third and Huston-Tillotson University (HTU) in fourth. Sifuentes and Hernandez took first and second place in the 5k. Four other Saints finished in the top 10.

The men’s team was followed by USW in second place, XULA in third, Wiley College in fourth, HTU in fifth and Jarvis Christian College (JCC) in sixth. The Saints swept the top 10 spots in the 5k, with Zarate taking first and Rodriguez, Ramirez and Moran, Hernandez finishing in the top 10.

This season’s conference competitors will be USW, Jarvis Christian University, XULA and newcomer Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT).

Academics
The women’s cross-country team earned NAIA Scholar Team honors in 2021-2022 with an overall 3.30 GPA.

Fan attendance
The Saints aim to provide a top-tier fan experience at all events. Torres commented, “Our program is building on past performance. Cross-country is an exciting sport, and we love hearing the crowd noise and fans cheering on our athletes.”

Saints complete season at NAIA National Cross-Country Championships

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Follow the cross-country team on their journey prior to and after the NAIA National Championships: https://www.youtube.com/embed/kFT6RnZmSOM?enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ollusaintsathletics.com

[RESULTS] The men’s cross-country team finished in 31st place out of 36 teams in the 66th Annual NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Championship at Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course on Friday.

The Saints posted a team score in the 8k of 815 points for a time total of 2:18.47 and an average of 27:46.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “The national meet was a wild ride. Coming into the day, we set a goal of a top 20 team finish, and with one kilometer to go, we were sitting right on the edge of that. We ended up dropping back to 31st, and it’s my job as a coach to figure out how to plug that hole that sunk us in the last kilometer. I’m still very proud of this group, and they’ll get to race indoor very soon with a new set of experiences.”

OLLU’s Jose Zarate was the Saints’ top finisher with a 115th place finish of 330 runners. He had a time of 26:53.9. Next was Julio Sanchez, 171st place, with a time of 27:20.2. He was followed by JoseCarlos Hernandez with a time of 27:58.2, Nathaniel Rodriguez with a time of 28:14.7, Hendrick Ramirez with a time of 28:19.5, Isaac Martinez with a time of 28:30.0 and Diego Moran with a time of 29:46.7.

Two women’s cross-country team members participated in the NAIA’s 42nd Annual Women’s Cross Country National Championships at Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course on Friday.  

Nadia Sifuentes placed 168th out of 338 runners with a time of 20:07 in the 5k. Jasmine Hernandez had a time of 21:26.8.

Torres commented, “Some of the more challenging aspects of preparing for a meet like the national meet is replicating the terrain. Nadia and Jasmine definitely felt some of that as the hills and the mud took their toll. We had been managing an injury with Jasmine and now that she was able to get that championship experience, we can take some time off to recover and rehab. Nadia wasn’t exactly thrilled with her race, but this was far and away her best national meet and a good place to be before track.”

Cross-country teams win seventh conference championships

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Hear from seniors and watch highlights.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-IhyxYFhxcg?enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ollusaintsathletics.com

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.

OLLU’S Sifuentes and Sanchez sweep conference awards

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Nadia Sifuentes of  was named Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week for Sept. 13-19, while Julio Sanchez was recognized as the RRAC Men’s Runner of the Week for the same dates. This is the third set of cross-country awards for the 2021 season. 

Sifuentes led the majority of the race and placed fourth in a field of 65 runners at the Westside Classic in San Antonio. The junior from Brownsville, Texas, posted a time of 24:23 in the 6K distance against competitors from NCAA Division I, II and III. 

Sanchez reached 16th place on the men’s side at the Westside Classic, his first collegiate event. The freshman from Philadelphia, Pa., completed the 8K course in a time of 28:13 against 70 runners. 

Cross-country and Holy Cross High School hosted Westside Classic

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The cross-country programs competed in the Westside Classic hosted by OLLU and Holy Cross High School at Pearsall Park in San Antonio on Saturday. OLLU and Holy Cross entered a partnership this summer, marking the first time the two schools will collaborate on an athletic event. Holy Cross is located less than a mile from the OLLU campus; the university offers the Holy Cross Dual Credit Program that enables students to take college-level courses while earning credit for both institutions.

Schools participating in the meet included NCAA D1 University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, NCAA D3 the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, NCAA D3 Schreiner University, NCAA D2 Texas A&M University-Kingsville, NCAA D2 Texas A&M International University, NCAA D2 St. Edwards University, and NCAA D3 Texas Lutheran University. The men’s 8k starts at 8 a.m., and the women’s 6k follows at 8:45 a.m. Local high schools will also compete at the Westside Classic in separate events.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “I’m extremely excited to fulfill the vision for Pearsall Park as a cross-country venue for the city of San Antonio’s cross-country teams. It’s always exciting to get a home meet, and I’d love to start a tradition and a home course for our program here at OLLU.”

Both teams finished in fourth place at the meet. Julio Sanchez was the men’s 8k top finisher for the Saints with a time of 28:13 for 16th place out of 70 runners. Nadia Sifuentes was the women’s 6k top finisher for the Saints with a time of 24:23 for fourth place out of 65 runners.

Rodriguez and Sifuentes garner conference runners of the week honors

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Nadia Sifuentes was named Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week for Aug. 30-Sept. 5, while Angel Rodriguez garnered the RRAC Men’s Runner of the Week award for the same dates. This is the first set of cross-country awards for the 2021 season.

Sifuentes placed 12th in the women’s 4K event in San Antonio at the University of the Incarnate Word Twilight meet, which consisted mostly of NCAA Division I runners. The junior from Brownsville, Texas, achieved a time of 15:12.5 against a field of 59 competitors. 

Rodriguez was the top finisher for the Saints in the men’s event at the UIW Twilight, which was his first college meet. The freshman from Hondo, Texas, placed 33rd in a field of 74 with a time of 20:13.9 in the 6K distance.

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