Women's Cross Country runs to 'Fourth Place' in @SCAC_Sports Championship

SHREVEPORT, La. - The University of Dallas women's cross country team claimed a fourth-place finish in the 2013 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship hosted by Centenary College of Louisiana on Saturday morning at Clyde Fant Course.

Dallas' average time of 25:19.1 on the 6k course did not let the team best their second-place performance from the 2012 SCAC Championship.

Trinity University averaged 22:36.7 to record a perfect score (15 points) and defend as conference champions. Dallas also finished behind Colorado College and Texas Lutheran University.

For a second-consecutive year, Trinity secured the top-five spots individually. With her first-place finish, Trinity's Maddie Murphy (22:02.4) won 2013 SCAC Runner-of-the-Year honors. Colorado College's Leah Wessler (23:39.3) was named the SCAC Freshman-of-the-Year with her 11th-place individual finish.

Junior Clare Myers (Grosse, Pointe, Mich.) led the Lady Crusaders with a school-record time of 24:01.1 to finish 15th. 

Second-year head coach Matt Buchhorn witnessed five more from Dallas cross the finish-line with Top 30 times -- freshman Anne Kennedy (San Antonio), junior Danielle Pajak (Oaklawn, Ill.) sophomore Ruth Fritz (Boise, Idaho), junior Colleen Slattery (Middle Ridge, Wis.) and junior Meghan Falconer (Kohler, Wis.). Kennedy (21st) ran 25:11.8, Pajak (24th) 25:45.1, Fritz (26th) 25:48, Slattery (27th) 25:49.5, and Falconer (28th) 25:54.5. 

Crystall Purcell (Pagosa Springs, Colo.), Karmina Martinez (Friendswood, Texas), Jennifer Brady (Lakewood, Colo.), Amy Sullican (East Lyme, Conn.), Michelle DeRoche (Lemont, Ill.) and Elizabeth Hinchley (Magnolia, Texas) rounded-out the field for Dallas. 

The team will now gear-up for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Nationals, which occur Nov. 7-8 in Syracuse, N.Y.