Oct. 31, 2013
VIDEO: Head Coach Erik Jenkins Previews SBC Championships
TROY, Ala. - The WKU men's and women's cross country teams will begin postseason competition Saturday in Troy, Ala. as the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers head to the Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships, hosted by Troy.
The women's 5K race will begin at 10 a.m. (CT) while the men's 8K race will follow at 11 a.m. (CT). Runners finishing first through fifth place will earn First-Team All-SBC honors, while Second and Third-Team accolades will be awarded to runners finishing sixth through 10th and 11th through 15th.
The Lady Toppers have captured six Sun Belt cross country titles in the past seven seasons and return three point-scorers from last season's third-place squad.
Lindsey Hinken leads a sophomore laden WKU squad and is fresh off a career best 5K performance of 17:38.56 at the Evansville Invitational. Hinken nabbed All-Conference honors as a freshman in 2012 after finishing seventh at the SBC Championships.
Fellow sophomore Katie Lever came on strong toward the end of last season with a 16th-place showing at the SBC Championships and has continued to impress in 2013. Lever owns WKU's second-best 5K clocking this season at 17:38.89, which she recorded two weeks ago at the Evansville Invitational to shatter her personal record by 50 seconds.
Junior David Mokone has led the Hilltoppers in every meet this season and has earned First-Team All-Sun Belt honors at the SBC Championships in back-to-back seasons after fourth-place outings. Mokone is coming off his first collegiate cross country win, which he captured at the Evansville Invitational on Oct. 19.
Sophomore Aaron Stevens one of two returning point scorers from last season's fifth-place Hilltopper squad and has consistently been WKU's No.2 or No.3 runner this season. Freshman Peter Agaba saw his first collegiate action at the Evansville Invitational and finished fifth-place overall with an 8K time of 26:00.66.
Entering Saturday's SBC Championships, the Hilltoppers have won 15 titles all-time while the Lady Toppers have garnered 17 titles.
Final results and videos will be posted by the conference at the conclusion of the championships at SunBeltSports.org. For more information on WKU Cross Country, visit WKUSports.com.
