SMU WINS 2009 C-USA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP

[PonyPride]

Ponies won the conference championship this morning!

[mustangbill67]

Congratulations women. Fantastic job! Good luck in the NCAA's.

[PonyPride]

SMU Cross Country Wins Conference USA Championship
Head coach Cathy Casey earns Coach of the Year honor

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (SMU) - The SMU women's team took the C-USA Championship for the second year in a row, claiming the first back-to-back title since 2004 when Marquette notched its fifth consecutive win.

"The girls all ran amazing," said two-time C-USA Women's Coach of the Year Cathy Casey of SMU. "They ran with heart especially on this muddy course. They never let it bother them. Everybody switched up places and did a great job. They all wanted the championship again and you could tell. We had eight girls out there who all ran with their hearts and I'm very proud of them."

Finishing in second place overall was junior Silje Fjortoft who led the Mustangs with a time of 18:01.6. SMU freshmen Sara Sjokvist and Veronika Blom crossed the finish line at 18:11.8 and 18:16.3, placing third and fourth, respectively.

UTEP took second-place honors as a team, improving upon its seventh place showing from a year ago. Rice and Tulsa finished third (82) and fourth (90), respectively, while host Houston placed fifth (138) and UAB finished in sixth (154). East Carolina, Southern Miss, UCF, Tulane, Memphis, and Marshall completed the women's field.

SMU will be one of numerous C-USA teams competing in the upcoming NCAA Regionals on Nov. 14, followed by the NCAA Championship on Nov. 23.


2009 C-USA WOMEN'S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. SMU 28
2. UTEP 40
3. Rice 82
4. Tulsa 90
5. Houston 138
6. UAB 154
7. East Carolina 193
8. Southern Miss 205
9. UCF 222
10. Tulane 254
11. Memphis 327
12. Marshall 338

Coach of the Year: Cathy Casey, SMU
Individual Medalist: Risper Kimaiyo, UTEP
Outstanding Senior: Jamie Rzepecki, UCF
Freshman of the Year: Risper Kimaiyo, UTEP

[Maryland78]

Great job ladies... !!!

Best of luck in the Regionals!!!

[mustangxc]

One of the few non-revenue teams that has improved in SO's time here. Congrats to the team!!! Keep it up and onto the district meet!!!

[PonyTales]

The track/cross country coaches must be great recruiters. They get top-notch talent to come to SMU, to run in a program with almost no budget and no facilities, and they keep producing year after year after year.

Congratulations to Coach Casey on the Coach of the Year award.

[SMUFan]

Congratulation, Ponies!