Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Sun Belt Championships
History Made for Marshall Cross Country at Sun Belt Championships
10/28/2022 10:15:00 PM | Cross Country
Women finish fourth out of 13 teams. Men finish 4th out of nine.
Women's Results | Men's Results | Photo Gallery
FOLEY, Ala.- Marshall cross country officially introduced themselves to the Sun Belt Conference Championships in a remarkable way. The women finished fourth, placing two in the All-Conference category. The Marshall men finished fourth as well, earning one All-Conference award as well.
The Thundering Herd raced a day early in Foley, Alabama. The championships were moved up a day to avoid impending severe weather. Despite the adjustments, seven runners finished with a new personal record with favorable conditions on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Marshall head cross country coach Caleb Bowen is thrilled with how the Herd performed in their first Sun Belt Championships.
"Let's go! That was so much fun!" Bowen said. "The first Sun Belt Championships are now in the books. I thought the teams raced really well and represented the Herd as well as we could. Seeing both sides compete just as hard and place 4th was just awesome!"
Abby Herring's fourth overall finish paced the Marshall women in the 5k. In a season full of personal and school records being broken, the Parkersburg native became the first woman in program history to break the 17-minute mark (16:56.2).
Herring is the first runner since Christa Gibson (1988, 90-91) to become a three-time All-Conference award winner. Sophomore Kylee Mastin earned her first All-Conference honors with a 12th place finish. The result will qualify the New Carlisle, Ohio native for the Sun Belt Third-Team.
Senior Sydney Smith solidified the third spot for the Herd, finishing 20th with an 18:11.3, a 20 second PR. Freshmen Hannah Wyler and Asha Bora rounded out the top five, each setting PR's as well. Wyler finished 30th with a time of 18:29.2, Bora finished 38th with a time of 18:41.4.
The fourth place finish is the highest for the Marshall women at a conference championship race since 1991.
The men saw junior Evan White earn All-Conference honors with his 11th place finish, earning Third Team awards. White becomes the first Marshall men's runner since Jacob Birurakis in 2020 to earn All-Conference Honors.
The pack running allowed the Herd men to score a top-five team finish. Freshman Matthew Schenenberg finished behind White in 18th. The trio of Branden Wood, Kazuma Bowring, and Brett Armbruster finished 21st, 23rd, and 24th to close out the top-five scoring. Bowring and Arbruster set 8k personal records for Marshall.
The Herd men finished fourth, their highest finish since 2010.
"Shoutout to our All-Conference athletes, Abby Herring, Kylee Mastin, and Evan White for their races!" Bowen added. "And heck, we had an incredible performance by Sydney, Branden, and Matt for being in the top-21. That is huge at a race like this, and also something that needs to be recognized is the fact that we had such a close 1-5 split on the men's side."
FULL RESULTS:
WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP (5K)
(1) 4. Abby Herring 16:56.2
(2) 12. Kylee Mastin 17:40.4
(3) 20. Sydney Smith 18:11.3
(4) 30. Hannah Wyler 18:29.2
(5) 38. Asha Bora 18:41.4
(6) 47. Kalei Jordan 19:05.2
(7) 58. Sophia Newsome 19:28.5
MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP (8K)
(1) 11. Evan White 24:45.7
(2) 18. Matthew Schenenberg 25:22.6
(3) 21. Branden Wood 25:32.9
(4) 23. Kazuma Bowring 25:43.8
(5) 24. Brett Armbruster 25:44.6
(6) 45. Kent Bee 27:17.1
(7) 51. Jacob Birurakis 27:45.2
"All in all, we are excited about this performance! Both squads are close if not the best teams I have had since coaching here and I think we are just getting started."
UP NEXT
Marshall will compete at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships in State College, Pennsylvania on Friday, November 11.
Follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @HerdTFXC for coverage all season long of Marshall cross country.
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Players Mentioned
