BOONE, N.C. – University of South Alabama junior cross country runner Laura Labuschaigne ran her best 5k race of the fall to win the 2017 Sun Belt Cross Country individual title Saturday morning held at the State Farm Fields-Kennedy Trails.
With the win, Labuschaigne becomes the first South Alabama women's cross country runner to win a league title in 20 years as Laura Martin (1997) was the last to do so. The Durbanville, Western Cape, South Africa, native is just the third South women's runner to win a conference individual title in program history.
Carolien Millenaar and Nicole Van Der Merwe earned third-team all-Sun Belt honors with their top 15 finishes, coming in 11th and 12th, respectively.
The Jaguar women placed third in the 12-team field, scoring 91 points. Texas State picked up its first Sun Belt cross country title in the women's 5K placing four runners inside the top 10 to score 53 points, 27 points better than second-place Appalachian State (80).
On the men's side, freshmen Warno Potgieter (25:38.6) and Migel Strydom (25:43.8) finished 12th and 13th, respectively, to lead the South men and pick up third-team all-league honors.
The South Alabama men scored 113 points to tie Louisiana but picked up the tiebreaker (3-2) over the Ragin' Cajuns to pick up fourth place in the men's 8k. The host Mountaineers won the SBC title in a tightly contested race with 70 points, besting UTA (73 pts) and Texas State (75 pts). Coastal Carolina's Nadeel Wildschutt (24:44.3) ran away from the field to pick up the individual title by 16 seconds.
Sun Belt Conference Women''s 5k Results.pdf
Sun Belt Conference Men''s 8k Results.pdf
Date: 10/28
Meet: Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships
Host Institution: Appalachian State
Place: State Farm Fields-Kennedy Trails (Boone, N.C.)
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
WOMEN – 5K
1. Laura Labuschaigne, South Alabama (17:35.1); 2. Lisha Van Onsellen, Coastal Carolina (17:38.5); 3. Tori Shelton, UTA (17:44.9); 4. Devina Schneider, Texas State (17:55.9); 5. McKynzie King, Texas State (17:57.4); 6. Shanieke Watson, Little Rock (17:57.6); 7. Lotte Meyberg, Georgia State (17:59.1); 8. Kendra Long, Texas State (18:00.3); 9. Courtney Musgrove, Louisiana (18:01.0); 10. Nikki Sanchez, Texas State (18:01.6)
MEN – 8K
1. Nadeel Wildschutt, Coastal Carolina (24:44.3); 2. Justin Domangue, UTA (25:00.7); 3. Beau Robinson, Louisiana (25:07.3); 4. Isaac Lalang, Little Rock (25:17.1); 5. Evan Georges, Appalachian State (25:18.8); 6. Joel Duren, UTA (25:20.0); 7. Joseph Meade, Texas State (25:23.2); 8. Gable Dershem, Appalachian State (25:24.3); 9. Hutson Baumann, Coastal Carolina (25:26.6); 10. Logan Pittdman, Texas State (25:27.3)
12. Warno Potgieter, South Alabama (25:38.6)
TEAM FINISHES
WOMEN – 5K
1. Texas State (53); 2. Appalachian State (80); 3. South Alabama (91); 4. Arkansas State (100); 5. Louisiana (131); 6. Georgia State (176); 7. Coastal Carolina (180); 8. UTA (182); 9. Georgia Southern (206); 10. Little Rock (222); 11. Troy (272); 12. ULM (300)
MEN – 8K
1. Appalachian State (70); 2. UTA (73); 3. Texas State (75); 4. South Alabama* (113); 4. Louisiana* (113); 6. Troy (125); 7. Coastal Carolina (160); 8. Arkansas State (199); 9. Little Rock (201); 10. ULM (231)
* – South Alabama (L-W-L-W-W) wins the tiebreaker over Louisiana (W-L-W-L-L) – (3-2)
SOUTH ALABAMA INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
WOMEN – 5K
1. Laura Labuschaigne (17:35.1); 11. Carolien Millenaar (18:05.0); 12. Nicole Van Der Merwe (18:07.2); 32. Susanna Pudner (18:46.8); 35. Kailee Kiminski (18:53.6); 47. Gillianne Sharp (19:07.5)
MEN – 8K
12. Warno Potgieter (25:38.6); 13. Migel Strydom (25:43.8); 27. Luke Fielding (26:24.1); 28. Ben Rolader (26:28.4); 33. Dylan Pausic (26:46.5); 47. John Paul Rumore (27:18.7); 56. Phillip Friedlander (28:06.8)
NOTES
- With the individual title, Labuschaigne earned all-conference honors for the third time in as many years and first-team accolades for the second-straight year.
- Labuschaigne is the third Jaguar women's cross country runner to win an individual title, joining former Sun Belt champions Laura Martin (1997) and DeAnne Dahmar (1987).
- Labuschaigne's time of 17:35.1 marked the fastest 5K time by a South runner this fall.
- It was the junior's third individual title this fall and she has now placed inside the top 30 in eight of her last nine races dating back to last season.
- Freshmen runners Carolien Millenaar (18:05.0) and Nicole Van Der Merwe (18:07.2) earned third-team all-conference honors as they finished 11th and 12th, respectively.
- The times for both Millenaar and Van Der Merwe were both 5K personal best.
- Susanna Pudner and Kalie Kiminski just missed top 30 finishes crossing the line in 32nd and 35th, respectively.
- Kiminski's time of 18:53.6 was a new personal best. Both Kiminski and Van Der Merwe's personal best eclipsed their previous best by 27 seconds.
- The South Alabama women placed third for the second straight year and the men won the tiebreaker (3-2) for fourth place over Louisiana, improving one spot from last season's finish at the conference meet.
- Freshmen runners Warno Potgieter and Migel Strydom also earned third-team all-conference honors, finishing 12th and 13th, respectively. The duo has finished inside the top 15 in three of their four races.
- The race marked the third time this season Potgieter has paced the men.
- Luke Fielding and John Paul Rumore each set new 8K personal best times at the meet.
- All five of South's scorers on the men's side placed 33rd or better.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Parker Cowles
- On Laura Labuschaigne's performance: "Laura ran a great race. She was aggressive from the beginning and led from start to finish and managed to close it out. It came down to a sprint at the end of the race and she certainly scared me, but she was able to pull out the win in a touch race."
- On the women's performance as a team: "We performed very well as a team today and that was our best overall performance for our top 5 this year. We executed well. Texas State and Appalachian State are both very deep teams and they got us today, but I feel we have a bright future if we continue to develop. Our team ran really well as a group and we had three runners very close to the front of the field to get all-conference honors and that was exciting."
- On Warno Potgieter and Migael Strydom: "Migael probably ran his best race of the season today. They were both very aggressive over the course of the long race and they put themselves up towards the front. It got tough for them at the finish and they had to really compete against some veteran guys. They were aggressive though and ran patiently."
- On the men's team performance with the top 5 finish: "Overall, I was extremely pleased with the men's performance today. We were able to beat Troy and Louisiana, who were two teams that got us during the regular season. We were able to do that today because of our 3-4-5 runners improved so much today. Last year, we only had two sophomores in the top 30 of the race, but today Ben Rolader and Luke Fielding were able to jump up eight or nine places from their performances last year and finish in the 20's, which was huge for our overall team performance. Dylan Pausic ran his best race of the season as a freshman and really came through for us, so it was really exciting. To have our entire scoring five in the top have of the race with such a young team shows that we have depth and talent. It might take us a few years, but we have a great program."
Laura Labuschaigne
- On her performance today: "Circumstances weren't perfect today, but that is part of being a top competitor. Every girl on the team really showed up today and we had our best team performance of the season."
- On other competitors pushing her: "Tori Shelton (UTA) and Lisha Van Onsellen (Coastal Carolina) were fierce competitors and we helped each other throughout the race. Coming out as the winner is such an honor, I am still pinching myself. I'm so grateful for the support from the University and that I'm able to give back. Go Jags!"
UP NEXT
-South Alabama will continue postseason competition at the NCAA South Regional hosted by Alabama at the Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Fri., Nov. 10. The women's 6k is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. (CT) and will be followed by the men's 10k at 10 a.m. (CT).
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub.
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