Oct. 19, 2013
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The WKU men's and women's cross country teams closed out their regular seasons on a high note at the Evansville Invitational on Saturday as the Lady Toppers took home the team title with five Top 10 finishes and David Mokone captured top honors individually for the Hilltoppers.
The Lady Toppers were led by career-best 5K performances by sophomores Lindsey Hinken and Katie Lever, who finished the race in second and third place, respectively. Hinken's 17:38.56 clocking on Saturday was nearly 17 seconds faster than her previous best time while Lever's 17:39.89 was almost 50 seconds better than her previous personal best.
Hinken's runner-up finish was the second of her career and marked the fifth time in her young career that she was the top finisher for the Lady Toppers.
Sophomores Taylor Carlin and Baylee Shofner, along with junior Jodi Miller also posted career-best finishes in the race, with Carlin finishing fifth, Miller sixth and Shofner seventh to round out the Lady Toppers' scoring. WKU's five Top 10 finishes resulted in 23 team points and its first meet win of the season.
Junior David Mokone secured his first individual cross country title with his first-place finish Saturday, finishing the 8K race nearly 20 seconds faster than his next closest competitor at 25:20.86. Mokone has been the Hilltoppers top finisher in each of WKU's four regular-season meets.
Mokone's performance spearheaded a second-place team finish for WKU as the Hilltoppers finished with a season-best 76 points.
Freshman Peter Agaba recorded a fifth-place finish in his first-career race, clocking in at 26:00.66. Sophomore Aaron Stevens also posted a career-best time and finish, clocking a 26:07.03 for eighth-place honors.
WKU wraps up its regular season with momentum heading into the Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships in Troy, Ala. on Nov. 2. For more information on WKU Cross Country, visit WKUSports.com.
Women's Individual 5K Results
2. Lindsey Hinken 17:38.56
3. Katie Lever 17:39.89
5. Taylor Carlin 18:47.18
6. Jodi Miller 18:47.92
7. Baylee Shofner 18:55.88
Men's Individual 8K Results
1. David Mokone 25:20.86
5. Peter Agaba 26:00.66
8. Aaron Stevens 26:07.03
27. Kamohelo Mangoejane 27:38.66
46. Josh Amos 29:15.25
