Friday, November 1
Wichita, Kan.
4:05 PM
University of North Texas
vs
AAC Championships
Three Runners Earn All-Conference Honors at AAC Cross Country Championships
11/1/2024 5:43:00 PM | Track & Field/XC
Mean Green women place fifth, men take sixth
WICHITA, Kan. – Three UNT cross country athletes earned all-conference honors as the women's team took fifth and the men's team placed sixth at the American Athletic Conference Championships Friday in Wichita, Kansas.
Victor Neiva became the third male runner in program history to earn four career all-conference honors, joining Mike Lowe and Patrick Strong. The senior placed eighth in the men's 8K with a time of 24:32.2 to lead the Mean Green.
Behind Neiva, true freshman Joseph Wienen had arguably the best race of his career, placing 31st with a time of 25:17.8 against a competitive field. Connor Bartek was seconds behind Wienen to place 35th, while a pair of freshmen in Nolan House and Matthew Montgomery rounded out UNT's scorers with a total of 167 points.
On the women's side, Betty Bajika and Ximena Lopez de Escalera placed in the top-15 to collect all-conference honors and lead UNT to its highest finish as a team since 2017. Bajika led the Mean Green with a seventh-place finish in 21:08.2 with Lopez de Escalera clocking a 21:25.9 to finish in 12th-place. The duo became the first all-conference performers for the North Texas women since 2020.
London Culbreath and Trinity Trotter placed 22nd and 35th respectively to keep North Texas in contention, while Brenna Zerby was the final scorer for the team placing 54th and nearing a personal best with a time of 22:54.5. As a team, UNT totaled 124 points, which resulted in a fifth-place finish, drastically improving upon last year's 13th-place finish at the conference meet.
The Mean Green will continue postseason competition at the NCAA South Central Regional Nov. 15 at the Watts Cross Country Course in College Station, Texas.
Victor Neiva became the third male runner in program history to earn four career all-conference honors, joining Mike Lowe and Patrick Strong. The senior placed eighth in the men's 8K with a time of 24:32.2 to lead the Mean Green.
Behind Neiva, true freshman Joseph Wienen had arguably the best race of his career, placing 31st with a time of 25:17.8 against a competitive field. Connor Bartek was seconds behind Wienen to place 35th, while a pair of freshmen in Nolan House and Matthew Montgomery rounded out UNT's scorers with a total of 167 points.
On the women's side, Betty Bajika and Ximena Lopez de Escalera placed in the top-15 to collect all-conference honors and lead UNT to its highest finish as a team since 2017. Bajika led the Mean Green with a seventh-place finish in 21:08.2 with Lopez de Escalera clocking a 21:25.9 to finish in 12th-place. The duo became the first all-conference performers for the North Texas women since 2020.
London Culbreath and Trinity Trotter placed 22nd and 35th respectively to keep North Texas in contention, while Brenna Zerby was the final scorer for the team placing 54th and nearing a personal best with a time of 22:54.5. As a team, UNT totaled 124 points, which resulted in a fifth-place finish, drastically improving upon last year's 13th-place finish at the conference meet.
The Mean Green will continue postseason competition at the NCAA South Central Regional Nov. 15 at the Watts Cross Country Course in College Station, Texas.
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