MOBILE, Ala. – The Coastal Carolina women's and men's cross country teams finished in fifth and seventh place, respectively, at the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships hosted by the University of South Alabama Friday morning. Sophomore Molly Jones and freshman Garrett Bivens paced the two teams as the top finishers in each race.
CCU's women's team tallied 136 points and finished in fifth place out of the 12 teams competing. Arkansas State placed first with Appalachian State, UT Arlington, and ULM finishing just in front of the Chants. Host USA followed Coastal while Troy, Georgia State, Texas State, Little Rock, Louisiana, and Georgia Southern rounded out the field.
Coastal's Jones and Meagan Moreno earned 2021 Sun Belt second-team and third-team all-conference honors, respectively, with their finishes.
Jones crossed the finish line in sixth place in the 5k event, with her time of 17:46.1 being a personal best time for the Marlow, England native. Moreno followed behind in 18:17.4, a personal best, for a 14th place finish. Ashley Rulison (18:47.9), Amilia Wise-Sweat (19:18.9), Isabelle Gulick (20:12.3), Jessica Martin (20:14.5), and Ashley Dalleske (21:19.6) finished in 25th, 37th, 54th, 55th, and 70th place, respectively, for the Chants.
On the men's side, the Chanticleers totaled 218 points to finish in seventh place out of 10 teams competing for the Sun Belt championship. The Red Wolves finished in first while Appalachian State, South Alabama, Texas State, and UT Arlington closed out the top five. Little Rock finished just in front of CCU with Troy, Louisiana, and ULM rounding out the field.
Bivens, just as he has done all season long, was the top Chant runner finishing the 8k race in 25:55.6 for a 22nd place finish. Tomas Duncan (27:19.8) set a personal best time while Michael Welsh Jr. (27:23.7), Jack Benoit (28:12.0), Cory Fleeman (28:17.8), and Gage Nielsen (28:48.6) crossed the finish line in 43rd, 44th, 54th, 55th, and 60th place, respectively.
Sun Belt Women's 5K Results
Arkansas State 45
Appalachian State 73
UT Arlington 77
ULM 121
Coastal Carolina 136
South Alabama 162
Troy 179
Georgia State 197
Texas State 233
Little Rock 237
Louisiana 288
Georgia Southern 297
Sun Belt Men's 8K Results
Arkansas State 32
Appalachian State 58
South Alabama 69
Texas State 101
UT Arlington 134
Little Rock 142
Coastal Carolina 218
Troy 234
Louisiana 248
ULM 254
2021 Women's First-Team All-Conference
Pauline Meyer, Arkansas State
Izzy Evely, App State
Sophie Leathers, Arkansas State
Madeleine Rowe, UTA
Adele Magaud, South Alabama
2021 Women's Second-Team All-Conference
Molly Jones, Coastal Carolina
Charlotte Murphy, UTA
Elizabeth Martin, Arkansas State
Marine Garnier, Georgia State
Benadine Chelimo, ULM
2021 Women's Third-Team All-Conference
Valeria Diaz-Gonzales, UTA
Sharon Jerono, ULM
Karsyn Kane, App State
Meagan Moreno, Coastal Carolina
Jasmine Donohue, App State
2021 Men's First-Team All-Conference
Kirami Yego, South Alabama
Lexington Hilton, Arkansas State
Kwanele Mthembu, Texas State
Bennett Pascoe, Arkansas State
Seth Waters, Arkansas State
2021 Men's Second-Team All-Conference
Onesmus Kemboi, South Alabama
Oliver Wilson-Cook, App State
Coleman Wilson, Arkansas State
Justin Botello, Texas State
Ryan Brown, App State
2021 Men's Third-Team All-Conference
Spencer Cardinal, Little Rock
Ryan Teuscher, App State
Nathan Herbst, Arkansas State
Daniel Smith, App State
Isaac Benz, App State
2021 Sun Belt Men's Runner of the Year: Kirami Yego, South Alabama
2021 Sun Belt Women's Runner of the Year: Pauline Meyer, Arkansas State
For complete coverage of CCU track & field, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalTFXC (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
