CORPUS CHRISTI- Texas – The 2021 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships were completed Friday morning on the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi campus, as the Nicholls State University women's program claimed its highest finish since 2020 and had two runners claim individual honors, while the men also had success with their highest finisher in the last 10 years.
The women's team took fifth place with 113 points and were paced by
Elsa Rijpstra (22:32.28) and
Ceren Yilmaz (22:48.79), who each finished in the top 15. Rijpstra placed at 12th overall and Yilmaz followed two spots at 14th. The duo were named All-Southland Third Team for their performances.
The men's squad took seventh, edging Northwestern State by 14 points.
Miles Kanipe was the top finisher at 33rd place, clocking a time of 26:52.79.
"I'm proud of both of our men's and women's teams fighting for our best team finishes since I arrived in Thibodaux over four years ago," said
Stefanie Slekis, Nicholls Cross Country head coach. "We also had our most Individual all-conference honors earned, highest top-1, -2 women's individual finishes and our highest men's individual finisher in at least the past decade of Nicholls/Southland Conference history.
"Our teams are both still hungry for more as we head to the NCAA South Central Region Championships. Our women had a bit of a better day at Texas A&M two weeks ago, so we are excited to be back in a really large competitive field and race for a top 15 team finish. Our men have been preparing all season for 10k and are ready to set some new personal bests in a competitive field next week."
UP NEXT
Both squads will be back on the course on Nov. 12 when they take part in the NCAA South Central Regional Meet in Waco, Texas.
2021 Southland Championship Team Finishes:
| Women |
Men |
| 1. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
1. McNeese |
| 2. New Orleans |
2. UIW |
| 3. McNeese |
3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| 4. UIW |
4. New Orleans |
| 5. Nicholls |
5. HBU |
| 6. HBU |
6. Southeastern |
| 7. Southeastern |
7. Nicholls |
| 8. Northwestern State |
8. Northwestern State |
Individual Superlatives:
Women
Freshman of the Year – Ozlynn Urias, UIW
Newcomer of the Year – Abby Gray, UIW
Coach of the Year – Brent Ericksen, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Athlete of the Year – Abby Gray, UIW
Men
Freshman of the Year – Kelvin Kimaiyo, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Newcomer of the Year – Jacob Kipkogei, McNeese
Coach of the Year – Brendon Gilroy, McNeese
Athlete of the Year – Bradley Makuvire, SLU
Women's All-Conference Teams
First Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
| Abby Gray |
Sr. |
UIW |
| Alex Weir |
So. |
New Orleans |
| Arina Kleshchukova |
Sr. |
New Orleans |
| Jessica Rabius |
Sr. |
HBU |
| Aurelia Jepkorir |
Fr. |
McNeese |
Second Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
| Faith Bett |
Sr. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Pamela Kosgei |
Jr. |
McNeese |
| Ariana Jimenez |
Fr. |
New Orleans |
| Alissa Lander |
Sr. |
McNeese |
| Quin Johnson |
Gr. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Third Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
| Valentina Campos |
Gr. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Elsa Rijpstra |
Jr. |
Nicholls |
| Sharon Kiprop |
So. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Ceren Yilmaz |
Jr. |
Nicholls |
| Maryn Demaio |
So. |
UIW |
Men's All-Conference Teams
First Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
| Bradley Makuvire |
Jr. |
Southeastern |
| Kelvin Kimaiyo |
Fr. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Gideon Cheplak |
Jr. |
McNeese |
| Dennis Kipngeno |
Jr. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Ben Drew |
Sr. |
HBU |
Second Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
| Aaron Gilliam |
Jr. |
McNeese |
| Kolyn Saltzman |
So. |
New Orleans |
| Armando Villareal |
So. |
UIW |
| Henry Kiplagat |
Sr. |
McNeese |
| Griffin Neal |
Fr. |
UIW |
Third Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
| Tristan Stellmach |
Gr. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Christopher Daniels |
Fr. |
UIW |
| Jacob Kipkogei |
So. |
McNeese |
| Stephen Aguilar |
Sr. |
HBU |
| Cade Litolff |
So. |
New Orleans |
