XC: Men take third against stout field at Crimson Classic
10/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
By Drew Harris | UTAMavs.com
Men's Results Women's Results
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - In the team's final race prior to the Sun Belt Conference Championships, the UT Arlington men's cross country team began rounding into form with a strong third-place finish among a quality 24-team field at the Crimson Classic.
Craig Lautenslager led the way with a top-five finish on Friday morning. The senior finished third among the 217 runners in the University Division with an 8k clocking of 24:34.8, which was 20 seconds off the winning time. He now has placed first, third and 20th in his three events this season.
With 147 points, UTA finished behind only Kentucky (70), the No. 6 team in the Southeast Region, and Georgia (83), the 4th-ranked team in the South.
The field included 13 teams that were among the top 15 in the South, Southeast or South Central Regions. Among the regionally-ranked schools that UT Arlington defeated were Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech, LSU, Rice and Tennessee.
"The men are getting it together," UTA coach John Sauerhage said. "We had a great week of training and they came out and showed it today. We should be ready for the Sun Belt meet in two weeks."
Michael Guerrero snagged another high finish for the Mavs, placing 14th with a time of 25:06.4. Among his four finishes this year are a first, second and 14th.
Freshman Justin Domangue also impressed by coming in 24th (25:30.6). He was the fourth-highest freshman finisher at the meet.
UTA's final point scorers were Joel Duren, who was 52nd (25:55.6) and Tyler Forde, who finished 54th (25:56.2). Grayson Birka (76th, 26:15.2) and Grant Copeland (79th, 26:16.5) were sixth and seventh on the team, respectively.
In 2013, the Mavericks placed second at the Crimson Classic, a finish that vaulted the team from 15th to third in the regional rankings, its highest-ever placement. UTA is currently fifth in the South Central.
The women placed 21st among 25 schools with a total of 613 points. Macey Beazley was the top finisher, placing 111th with a time of 22:53.8 over the 6k layout. The team's second finisher for each of the first three meets, she became UTA's top finisher for the first time in her career.
Other point scorers for the Mavericks were Chantal Van Der Westhuizen (140th, 23:25.6), Tamerah Gorham (157th, 23:42.4), Penny Taylor (183rd, 24:12.1) and Taylor Repa (187th, 24:15.3). UTA was without the services of its top runner, Tori Shelton, who became ill and was forced to drop out of the race.
"The women had a setback today," Sauerhage said. "But we are young and we will bounce back and be ready to run well at conference."
UTA is next set to compete in the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29, in Dothan, Ala. The men have won conference titles in three of the past four years, while the women claimed the 2014 SBC crown.
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