COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Nicholls State University men's and women's cross country squads finished 23^rd and 22^nd, respectively, at the NCAA Division I South Central Regional championships on Friday morning at the Watts Cross Country Course.
 
The men's team totaled 670 points in the 10k, while the women posted 682 in the 6k.
 
Freshman Jonathan Hernandez had the strongest showing of the day for the Colonels, placing 114^th on a 35-minute, 9.1-second run. The Katy, Texas, native ran a personal best through 8k on his way to being the Colonels' top 10k finisher.
 
Also finishing for the men's squad were freshmen Daniel Figueroa (35:22.7), Tyler Granger (37:00.3), Dustin Worley (40:28.0) and Cam Carter (42:30.2) and junior Teril Cooper (44:43.9).
 
This meet marked the first time in over a decade that the men scored as a team at the South Central Regional championships. Hernandez, Worley and Granger are the second-, third- and fifth-best 10k performers, respectively, for Nicholls in the past decade. In addition, Figueroa and Hernandez finished within seconds of competitors who had beat them by 45 or more seconds at the Southland Conference Championship.
 
"Our men had a great race today. They handled their first 10k really well, with Daniel and Jonathan being aggressive but in control the first half, getting out with guys who were 15 to 20 places ahead of them at the Southland Conference Championship 2 weeks ago," Slekis said. "We ran our best team race of the season today, which is a great way to end our season before we rest and gear up for a successful track season. I'm excited for the future of our program and the strong first step our young men made today toward our goal of being a consistent Top 15 regional team."
 
Freshman Lara Reifers posted the top finish for the women's team, placing 145^th on a 25:18.0. She was followed by freshman Julia Garcia Verges (25:38.4), sophomores Eleana Callejas (26:13.8) and Joyce Kiplagat (26:28.9) and freshman Faith Keter (26:51.7).
 
"Julia got out aggressively going through the first mile in 6 minutes and did a good job of pulling the rest of our group with her. Lara ran a strong second half to finish with a personal best on a cold, windy and muddy day," Slekis said. "As a team we closed the gap a bit on a few of the Southland Conference teams ahead of us two weeks ago, so it was a positive end to the season to kick off an exciting track season ahead."
 
Arkansas claimed both the men's and women's team titles for the second consecutive year, totaling 59 and 21 points, respectively. It also boasted the top four finishers for the women, with Katrina Robinson taking the individual title on a 20:20.3 run. Lamar's Jamie Crowe (31:36.3) claimed the men's individual title.
 
To stay up to date with the Nicholls cross country squads, follow the teams on twitter @Nicholls_XCTF.