CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina's
Molly Jones set both a Coastal Carolina and a Sun Belt Conference record to cross the finish line in first in the women's 5k championship race to be crowned the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Women's Cross Country Individual Champion on Friday night in Foley, Ala.
Jones' first-place time of 16:29.5 was both a CCU and Sun Belt Conference record and was almost a full seven seconds faster than the runner-up. Jones broke the previous conference record of 16:51.5, set by Arkansas State's Pauline Meyer last year.
The win was her third victory of the 2022 fall season.
She is the first Sun Belt Conference Women's Cross Country Individual Champion in Coastal Carolina history and the first women's cross country conference individual champion since Letitia Saayman won the Big South Conference Championship meet in 2015.
With her win, Jones was named the 2022 Sun Belt Women's Runner of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Sun Belt first team.
Overall, the women's team finished sixth with 155 points. On the men's side, the Chants finished seventh overall with 210 points.
Southern Miss won the women's team championship with 44 points, finishing in front of Arkansas State (71 points), James Madison (83), Marshall (104), and Appalachian State (117).
Finishing behind the Chanticleers was South Alabama (203), ULM (210), Louisiana (220), Troy (288), Texas State (295), Georgia Southern (343), and Georgia State (349).
Also scoring for the Chanticleers in the women's 5k meet was
Ellie Wolski, who placed 25th overall with her time of 18:19.3, and
Amilia Wise-Sweat, who crossed the finish line in 29th with a time of 18:28.8.
Finishing 10 spots behind Wise-Sweat was newcomer
Kylee Denver and her time of 18:42.4, while senior
Ashley Rulison crossed the finish line in a time of 19:31.6, placing her in 61st overall.
First-year Chants
Ella Lehmann (20:24.1),
Tiarra Smith (20:58.3), and
Taylor Houston (21:22.5) rounded out the runners for the Teal and Bronze, finishing 75th, 81st, and 83rd overall.
Winning the team championship in the men's 8k race was Arkansas State with seven top-15 finishes and 32 total points.
Appalachian State placed second with 46 points, finishing in front of South Alabama (58), Marshall (97), Louisiana (139), and ULM (190).
The Chanticleer men finished ahead of Troy (217) and Texas State (229).
Leading the way for the men's team was sophomore
Tomas Duncan, as he finished 32nd overall with a time of 26:19.6 and just three spots in front of fellow Chant
Ethan Blackwelder and his time of 26:37.4.
Two spots behind Blackwelder in 37th place was transfer
Trey Kraimer with a time of 26:46.3, while fellow transfer
Hunter White (27:34.9) and sophomore
Jack Benoit (28:34.7) finished in 49th and 57th place, respectively.
The 2022 NCAA Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships will take place on Nov. 11 in Louisville, Ky.
2022 Sun Belt Cross Country Championships
2022 Women's Cross Country Championship Team Results
1. Southern Miss – 44
2. Arkansas State – 71
3. James Madison – 83
4. Marshall – 104
5. Appalachian State – 117
6. Coastal Carolina – 155
7. South Alabama – 203
8. ULM – 210
9. Louisiana – 220
10. Troy – 288
11. Texas State – 295
12. Georgia Southern – 343
13. Georgia State – 349
2022 Men's Cross Country Championship Team Results
1. Arkansas State – 32
2. Appalachian State – 46
3. South Alabama – 58
4. Marshall – 97
5. Louisiana – 139
6. ULM – 190
7. Coastal Carolina – 210
8. Troy – 217
9. Texas State – 229
2022 Women's Cross Country Championship Top-Five Individuals (5K)
1.
Molly Jones, Coastal Carolina (16:29.5) *New Sun Belt Meet Record
2. Sophie Daigle, Louisiana (16:36.2)
3. Oliwia Wawrzyniak, Southern Miss (16:42.2)
4. Abby Herring, Marshall (16:56.2)
5. Isabela Ross, Southern Miss (17:03.5)
2022 Men's Cross Country Championship Top-Five Individuals (8K)
1. Kirami Yego, South Alabama (22:55.9) *New Sun Belt Meet Record
2. Teagan Flanagan, South Alabama (23:38.1)
3. Grayson Young, Arkansas State (24:21.1)
4. Dawson Mayberry, Arkansas State (24:24.5)
5. Oliver Wilson-Cook, Appalachian State (24:28.2)
2022 Sun Belt Men's Runner of the Year: Kirami Yego, South Alabama
2022 Sun Belt Women's Runner of the Year: Molly Jones, Coastal Carolina
2022 Men's First-Team All-Conference
Kirami Yego, South Alabama
Teagan Flanagan, South Alabama
Grayson Young, Arkansas State
Dawson Mayberry, Arkansas State
Oliver Wilson-Cook, App State
2022 Men's Second-Team All-Conference
Jacob Pyeatt, Arkansas State
Nati Enright, Arkansas State
Ryan Brown, App State
Garrett Bivens, App State
Chase Burrell, App State
2022 Men's Third-Team All-Conference
Evan White, Marshall
Rylan Brown, Arkansas State
Nathan Herbst, Arkansas State
Ryan Teuscher, App State
Ethan Mychajlonka, Arkansas State
2022 Women's First-Team All-Conference
Molly Jones, Coastal Carolina
Sophie Daigle, Louisiana
Oliwia Wawrzyniak, Southern Miss
Abby Herring, Marshall
Isabela Ross, Southern Miss
2022 Women's Second-Team All-Conference
Miranda Stanhope, James Madison
Jaybe Shufelberger, Arkansas State
Sophie Leathers, Arkansas State
Erin Phelps, Southern Miss
Adele Magaud, South Alabama
2022 Women's Third-Team All-Conference
Smilla Kolbe, Southern Miss
Kylee Mastin, Marshall
Gabriella Garcia, James Madison
Sofia Terenziani, James Madison
Linnea Maynard, App State
For complete coverage of CCU Cross Country and Track & Field, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalTFXC (Twitter), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
