Oct. 25, 2006

Stephen F. Austin looks to make it six in a row in men's competition while Lamar's women hope to three-peat at the 2006 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships on Friday. This year's field should be highlighted by seasoned veterans as nine of the top-10 finishers from the 2005 women's championship and 10 of the top dozen men return.

All 12 conference members send men's and women's teams to the meet with league newcomers Central Arkansas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi competing in their inaugural SLC championship event. The two joined the Southland Conference on July 1 and are in their first academic year in the league.

The 22nd-annual 6,000-meter women's championship gets under way at 9:30 a.m. The men's run will follow at 10:30 a.m., covering an 8K course and contending for the 43rd championship trophy in Southland history.

While two teams will be looking to continue their recent string of titles, Texas State will be looking to make some noise on Friday.

The Bobcat women are led by Tenley Determan who won the Texas Invitational two weeks ago. On the men's side, Alex Escontrias and Andrew McCartin are coming off top 20 finishes at the Texas Invitational.

Texas State's men finished fourth and women placed sixth at last year's Southland Conference Championship.

Last year, SFA used top-10 finishes from its five scored competitors to lift the Lumberjacks to their fifth title in a row. Meanwhile, the Lamar Lady Cardinals placed their five student-athletes among the top 11 to take home their trophy.

In addition to the fifth in a row for the Lumberjack program, it was the fifth all time for SFA, moving it into a tie for fourth with Lamar for most all-time team titles. McNeese State has also won seven men's championships while former member North Texas has six to its credit. The five in a row streak ranks second to former member Abilene Christian, which won the first seven championships contested from 1964-70.

In the women's race, SFA's Ashley Monteau won her second straight individual title as the Ladyjacks finished second to Lamar. The junior finished the 6,000-meter course over one minute ahead of second-place Renee Graham of Lamar. Both return for the 2006 championship, Monteau in her senior season and Graham as a sophomore.

The 2006 Southland Conference Cross Country Championship results will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com and www.southland.org.