C-USA Championship Results
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DENTON, Texas. - Three Lady Toppers recorded personal records on their way to a fourth-place team finish while the Hilltoppers placed four runners in the Top 40 to finish fifth Saturday morning at their first Conference USA Cross Country Championships, hosted by North Texas at Eagle Point Cross Country Course.
Junior Katie Lever paced the Lady Toppers with a career best 5K race of 17:09.1, which resulted in a seventh-place individual finish in the field of 92 C-USA runners. Lever was named First-Team All-Conference USA for her efforts as she recorded her sixth-career Top 10 finish.
For the Hilltoppers, it was senior David Mokone leading the way to earn all-conference honors for the fourth-straight season. Mokone, who was a three-time All-Sun Belt Conference runner, captured Second Team All-Conference USA honors Saturday with a 12th-place finish in the 8K race with a time of 24:51.7.
Junior Taylor Carlin crossed the line at 25th with a time of 17:59.5 for the Lady Toppers, senior Jodi Miller came in at 31st at 18:13.1 while Baylee Shofner and Savannah Ames rounded out the Lady Topper scoring with career-best races. Shofner, a junior, posted a time of 18:21.4 and Ames, a freshman, put up the best performance of her young career with a 18:39.2 clocking.
The Lady Toppers wound up fourth as a team with 142 points, trailing champion Middle Tennessee (55), Rice (62) and North Texas (91) in their first postseason race as members of Conference USA. Rice sophomore Cali Roper captured the women's individual title with a time of 16:43.7.
Sophomore Peter Agaba placed 27th in the men's race with a 25:24.1 clocking, freshman Endalow Takele was close behind in 32nd while upperclassmen Sean Hurd and Aaron Stevens capped the Hilltopper scoring. The Hilltoppers finished fifth out of 11 C-USA teams with 153 points, which trailed champion North Texas (50), UTEP (58),, MTSU (67) and Rice (79). UTEP's Anthony Rotich won his third-straight individual C-USA crown with a time of 24:04.4.
Both the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers will continue training for the next two weeks as they continue their postseason journey at the NCAA Southeast Regional at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. on Nov. 14.
For more information on the WKU cross country teams, follow the program on Twitter at @WKUTrackField.
Women's 5K Individual Results (4th out of 13 teams)
7. Katie Lever 17:09.1 (PR)
25. Taylor Carlin 17:59.5
31. Jodi Miller 18:13.1
36. Baylee Shofner 18:21.4 (PR)
44. Savannah Ames 18:39.2 (PR)
Men's 8K Individual Results (5th out of 11 teams)
12. David Mokone 24:51.7
27. Peter Agaba 25:24.1
32. Endalow Takele 25:36.9
38. Sean Hurd 25:51.5
50. Aaron Stevens 26:98.6
