Men's Cross Country: Owls, Hewamudalige Take Home WAC Title
10/30/2004
Kate Gorry and Marcel Hewamudalige won individual titles at the 2004 WAC Cross Country Championship. |
RUSTON, La. ? Marcel Hewamudalige finished first at the 2004 Western Athletic Conference cross country championship, helping the Owls to their second team championship in three years Saturday at Lincoln Parish Park.
Hewamudalige, a two-time WAC athlete of the week this season, ran a race that came down to a sprint at the finish. The junior took the individual title by .86 over Texas-El Paso?s Mircea Bogdan. Hewamudalige finished the 8K course in 24:57.13 to Bogdan?s 24:57.99.
?I can?t say I expected to win,? said Hewamudalige. ?The top seven runners in this league are all really good, but I am very excited to win, and for us as a team as well.? The win nabbed the WAC athlete of the year award for Hewamudalige.
As a team, Rice finished six in the top-10 for 27 total team points. Sophomore Stephen Magness was fourth, while Scott Loftin placed sixth, Adam Davis seventh, Aaron Robson ninth and David Axel 10th.
?We were hoping for a good finish, but we couldn?t have ever hoped it would be this good,? said Rice head coach Jon Warren. ?This is a great win for this program, and one we?re very proud of.? Warren was also named WAC coach of the year.
In the team competition, Tulsa finished second with 79 points, followed by Texas-El Paso (80), Boise State (96), Louisiana Tech (102) and San Jose State (153).
Up next for the Owls is the NCAA South Central Championship, Nov. 13 in Waco.
- RICE OWLS - |
