Bearkats host Southland Preview on Saturday
9/11/2015 11:25:00 AM | Cross Country, Cross Country
After capturing second and third with an underclassmen-filled lineup at the HBU Cross Country Opener a week ago, Sam Houston State returns home with a full team expected to compete at the Southland Conference Preview Meet on Saturday morning from Huntsville's Kate Barr Ross Memorial Park.
The Bearkats will be joined by Stephen F. Austin, Northwestern State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas Wesleyan, starting with the men's four miles at 7:15 a.m. and continuing with the women's 5,000 meters at 7:45 a.m.
“We're excited about the opportunities we have this upcoming season,” head coach Jessie Parker said. “We had a really good group of upperclassmen who stayed here this summer and had really good training sessions.”
At HBU's McGregor Park last weekend, the Kats were led by a pair of runner-up finishes including senior Nicole Aponte's 12-minute two-mile race and freshman Jeffrey Moore's mark of 15:50.68 in the three-mile.
“We did a time trial two weeks ago and this is probably the best starting point we've had,” Parker said. “We were pleased with the results from the returners as well as the freshmen. Sometimes the freshmen are a little hit and miss with how they train during the summer but they all performed exceptionally well.”
The Bearkat men and women each boast eight freshmen and three sophomores while the women upperclassmen consist of a pair of juniors and seniors and the men have five juniors. According to Parker, the squads will be represented fully on Saturday.
“We'll run everybody,” Parker said. “It will be a good early season test to see where we are from a racing standpoint. I know we'll have a lot of other members from the conference here in preparation for our conference championship in October.”
Saturday marks the second of five regular-season meets for Sam Houston. The Kats will be well traveled by the time they return home Oct. 30 to host the Southland Championships including visits to Corpus Christi, Austin and Tuscaloosa, Ala., taking place in a month's time span.
“We're very fortunate to host the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships this fall,” Parker said. “To have the chance to compete at our home course with all of our fans out supporting us will be a great opportunity.”
A season ago, the Sam Houston women placed third, behind 106 points, and the men took sixth, with 148 points, at the Southland Championships from Natchitoches, La.
There, current senior Ana Moreno was recognized as second-team all-conference while current junior Olivia Olguin was an honorable mention. Karl Schreiber, a senior from a season ago, earned honorable mention for the men.
“We're looking forward to this cross country season,” Parker said. “We'll take things week by week but we're excited about where the athletes are, the attitude they have and the work they've put in thus far. Hopefully we'll have some pretty good results to show for it in the next several weeks.”
The Kats also host the UIL Region III Cross Country Preview Saturday, beginning at 8:20 a.m. with the varsity boys 5,000 meters. For more information on the meet, click here.
