Posted: Sep 24, 2022

Cura Leads with Top Ten Finish as Cross Country Finishes Sixth

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran Men's and Women's Cross Country teams competed in the Concordia Cross Country Classic Friday night in Pflugerville, Texas. The field featured teams from across the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) and American Southwest Conference (ASC) as well as Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU), North American University, and St. Edward's in the women's race while OLLU, St. Edward's, Hill College, Texas Running Club, and Huston-Tillotson joined the men's field of SCAC and ASC teams.

MEN'S RECAP

Men's Cross Country finished sixth, third amongst Division-III teams. Sophomore Carlos Cura (Midkiff/Rankin) was the first TLU athlete to cross the finish line - finishing 9th with a time of 24:05.6.

Following Cura was freshman Lucas Falcon (Victoria/Victoria East) who tallied a 24th place finish with a time of 24.54.6. Cole Schuetz (Corpus Christi/London) was next for the Bulldogs, coming in 35th with a time of 25:48.1.

Kevin Vazquez-Arredondo (Austin/Del Valle) and Koby Green (San Antonio/Clark) rounded out the top five for the Bulldogs. As a team, the Bulldogs averaged a time of 25:32.

WOMEN'S RECAP

Texas Lutheran women's cross country claimed a third place finish and finished first amongst Division-III teams. Caeli Taylor (Tilden/McMullen County) led the way, coming in eighth place with a time of 23:13.5. Mackenzie Payne (Celina/Frisco Heritage), Gianna Kennedy (El Paso/El Paso), Brenna Iannelli (La Grange/La Grange), and LeeAnndrea Canas (Corpus Christi/West Oso) finished in 12th, 19th, 27th, and 30th, respectively, contributing to the team's performance that saw the Bulldogs finish with an average 5.5K time of 24:07.

Coach Holland's comments: "The flat soccer fields combined with running in the evening made for great conditions for a cross country meet. The TLU women's team really showed strength by earning third place overall behind two scholarship programs. Led by junior Caeli Taylor's top 10 finish and senior Mackenzie Payne's top 15 placing, the women continue to place high amongst D3 competitors from both the SCAC and ASC. I was happy with the people who really stepped up in the race to secure that third place spot. I know they have their sights set on top 3 in Conference and this showed they have the desire to do so.

The men were again led by sophomore Carlos Cura who ran a great race. I know in order to place higher we need the men to race in a tighter pack and cut down gaps from number two to five. And I know runners six and seven will come into play as well at Conference. The young team is definitely still trying to figure out how to race an 8K, but I think every week we continue to get better. They still have not tapped their full potential!"

FULL RACE RESULTS CAN BE FOUND AT: https://www.tfrrs.org/results/xc/19412/Concordia_Classic

Texas Lutheran will compete in the UIW Invitational in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, October 1, with the women's race starting at 8:35 AM and the men's meet starting at 8 AM. For all updates on Texas Lutheran Cross Country, follow @tluxctf on Instagram as well as all official TLU Athletics accounts.