Sept. 10, 2005

ARLINGTON - Chase Snowden and Ryan Dirickson finished 10th and 11th, respectively, in leading the Texas A&M University-Commerce cross country men's team to a fourth place finished against Division I competition at the 2005 Movin' Mavs Cross Country Challenge, finishing ahead of one of the nation's top NAIA schools.

The Lion women finished in fifth behind all Division I universities.

"I'm proud of the way we competed," head coach Pat Ponder said of the men's and women's performances on Saturday morning. "We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, and I think we'll be up to it."

Snowden, a junior from Lubbock, finished the 4-mile course with a time of 21:37, just ahead of Dirickson's 21:31 time in the 35-runner contest.

Logan Bowman was 18th with a 22:09 showing, while Matt Snowden (22:23) was 22nd and Caleb Reynolds placed 29th at 23:06.

The Lion women also competed in their first individual competition on the season. Niki Williams was A&M-Commerce's top finisher with a 12:43 time to finish 30th in the 2-mile course.

Kara Bickel placed 32nd at 12:56, one spot ahead of sister Andra Bickel and her 12:57 time. Tiara Medlock (13:44) and Courtney Fernandez (15:290 rounded out the women's team.

In leading his Texas Christian team to a first place team win, Kip Kangogo was the top men's performer with a 19:22 showing. North Texas finished second, with host University of Texas at Arlington, A&M-Commerce and top NAIA school Northwood University following.

On the women's side, Rachel Forish led her Southern Methodist team to victory with aN 11:10 time. TCU, UTA, UNT, A&M-Commerce, and Northwood followed.

Some nagging injuries kept Amos Davidson and Jesse Rodriguez from competing, but they should be ready for next weekend. The Lions travel to the nationally recognized Missouri Southern Stampede as they gear up for the Lone Star Conference Championships now just over a month away.

+++A&M-C+++

Men's Teams
2005 Movin' Mavs Cross Country Challenge
TCU, 31 points
UN T, 49
UTA, 58
A&M-COMMERCE, 90
Northwood, 145

Women's Teams
2005 Movin' Mavs Cross Country Challenge
SMU, 27 points
TCU, 49
UTA, 74,
A&M-COMMERCE, 172
Northwood, DNF

Top 10 Men's Runners
Kip Kangogo, TCU, 19:22
Jackson Langat, TCU, 20:39
Gary Lackey, UNT, 20:45
Matt Manly, TCU, 20:51
Idillo Campos, UTA, 21:04
Frank Ngeno, UNT, 21:07
Ivan Pinal, UTA, 21:16
Billy Giano, UNT, 21:25
J.T. Reinert, TCU, 21:26
Chase Snowden, A&M-COMMERCE, 21:27
11. Ryan Dirickson, 21:31
18. Logan Bowman, 22:09
22. MATT SNOWDEN, 22:23
29. Caleb Reynolds, 23:06

Top 10 Women's Runners
Rachel Forish, SMU, 11:10
Calandra Stewart, TCU, 11:13
Lisa Haglund, Unattached, 11:18
Magan Moore, SMU, 11:19
Halie Bullin, TCU, 11:20
Jill Brennon, UNT, 11:24
Anne Gustafson, SMU, 11:39
Krystal Rodriquez, SMU, 11:41
Caroline Erilson, UTA, 11:41
Jodi Hulett, UTA, 11:41
30. Niki Williams, 12:43
32. Kara Bickel, 12:56
33. Andra Bickel, 12:57
40. Tiara Medlock, 13:44
42. Courtney Fernandes, 15:29