Shawnee, Okla. (11/6/2010) - Both JBU men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Sooner Athletic Conference championships hosted by Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee on Saturday. The women finished fourth out of ten teams and the men finished eighth.

 Wayland Baptist won the women's race (5K) with the top three finishers and four of the top five, led by individual champion Milca Villegas in first with a time of 19:00.

 WBU had 31 points, followed by Oklahoma Baptist with 45, Oklahoma Christian with 83, John Brown at 120, Lubbock Christian at 149, Southern Nazarene at 161, Rogers State at 184, Oklahoma City at 212, Northwestern Oklahoma State at 232 and Mid-America Christian at 257.

 Individually for JBU, Valerie Kliewer finished 12th out of 74 with a time of 19:59, Melissa Roth 15th in 20:10, Chandra Sooter 16th in 20:11, Morgan Metcalfe 42nd in 22:16, Danielle Wilson 43rd in 22:19, Samantha Ricker 52nd in 23:11, and Callie Buchholtz 56th in 23:49.

 Kliewer and Ross were also named to the SAC All-Conference team.

 On the men's side Kennedy Kithuka of Wayland Baptist pulled away in the 8K event to beat defending NAIA champion Silas Kisorio of Oklahoma Christian at 22:45 for the men's individual title. Kisorio was second at 23:05.

 Wayland Baptist won with 30 points, followed by Oklahoma Christian at 39, OBU at 73, Lubbock Christian at 120, Southern Nazarene at 157, Rogers State at 188, Oklahoma City at 200, John Brown at 201, Northwestern Oklahoma State at 236 and Mid-America Christian at 269.

 For JBU, Kyle Schmidt finished 42nd out of 81 with a time of 27:42, Zach Ray 49th in 28:18, Moses Clark 56th in 28:40:42, Derek Honcoop 59th in 28:45, Sam Young 63rd in 29:18, and Chase Skelton came in 68th in 30:35.

 “It has been a great start for our first year,” said head coach Matt Pearson, “And I look forward to significant improvement next year.”

JBU Press Release, 11/6/10