XC Teams Place Seventh at Big 12 Championship in Waco

Saturday, November 2

Waco, Texas

10 a.m. CT (Men’s 8K); 11 a.m. CT (Women’s 6K)

Baylor

Big 12 Conference Championships

XC Teams Place Seventh at Big 12 Championship in Waco

11/2/2019 2:02:00 PM | Cross Country

Men's Results Women's Results

Lindsay Walton and TJ Sugg recorded identical 32nd-place finishes for the Bears.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Baylor cross country was able to hold on and "held serve" in Saturday's Big 12 Championship at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, basically beating the teams it was supposed to beat.
            But, keeping with the tennis vernacular, what coach Jon Capron really wanted to do was break serve a few times and get closer to the front of the pack.
            Both the Baylor men's and women's teams finished in seventh place in the conference meet, exceeding last year's races when the men were eighth and women ninth.
            "We held our own, kind of held serve a little bit, but didn't really over-exceed expectations, really," Capron said. "And I think they know that. But, we've got another race, and I think (the NCAA South Central Region Championships on Nov. 15) are really going to set up really well for them to be able to end this season the way we want to."
            As expected, the fifth-ranked Iowa State men won their third-straight Big 12 title, placing six runners in the top 11 and scoring 34 points. The Cyclones' Edwin Kurgat was the repeat individual winner, edging Texas' Isai Rodriguez in the 8,000-meter race with a time of 23:36.3.
            Oklahoma State was second in the men's race with 58 points, followed by Texas (72), Kansas (92), Texas Tech (147), Kansas State (150), Baylor (213), Oklahoma (221) and TCU (287).
            "I think we would have liked to have raced a little better as a whole," said junior Connor Laktasic, who finished 39^th in 25:09.1. "I don't think we're too disappointed with it, though. I definitely think we could have raced better, and we'll adjust some things for the next one. We just have a little bit of work to do, but we'll stick with it and keep moving."
            Freshman Ryan Hodge made an early push and was in 26^th place through the first 3,000 meters, but "got a little side stitch kind of halfway" and dropped all the way back to 56^th at 25:55.3 as Baylor's fourth runner.
            "I was proud of him for holding on, because I needed him there bad," Capron said. "We were just a little off. Some of those people you get them back from injury or you get them back from sickness, it takes a little while to get them all the way back."
            Junior TJ Sugg was Baylor's lead runner and placed 32^nd overall at 24:55.5. The Bears' other scoring runners were sophomore Ryan Day, 53^rd, 25:45.0; and redshirt freshman Cal Johnston, 65^th, 26:18.2.
            "I need TJ and Ryan (Hodge) and Connor to have a buddy day. They need to buddy up together and just get cranking," Capron said. "They know how to do it, they just didn't get together today, and they kind of missed each other. . . . In this one, you either get on the bus and made it, or you didn't. Ryan got on it, and then it kind of spit him out the back a little bit because he got that stitch."
            The women's race was far more competitive, with Oklahoma State (52 points) edging Texas (54) and West Virginia (56). Iowa State was fourth with 77 points, followed by Texas Tech (155), Kansas (167), Baylor (198), Kansas State (214), Oklahoma (275) and TCU (297).
            Senior Lindsay Walton was just outside of the top 20 at the halfway mark in the women's 6,000-meter race, but she ran out of gas down the stretch and placed 32^nd with a time of 21:47.6. Sophomore Celia Holmes was 42^nd (22:08.8), followed by Gabby Satterlee (49^th, 22:15.1), Sarah Antrich (51^st, 22:21.1) and freshman Sophia Leidner (57^th, 22:47.2).
            "I thought Lindsay was brave and got up there and got in the mix," Capron said. "You look at where she was last year to this year, I think she probably cut her place from last year in half. So, that's really hard to say, 'Ah, not quite there.' Really, Lindsay ran great. . . . Sophia really caught fire a little bit. She was just in there smiling. I was really impressed with how she kind of get in there and mixed it up a lot."
            Baylor will take next weekend off before competing in the NCAA South Central Regional on Friday, Nov. 15, in Fayetteville, Ark.

WACO, Texas – With Baylor hosting for the first time since 2013, Lindsay Walton and TJ Sugg both finished 32nd to lead BU cross country to a pair of seventh-place finishes Saturday morning at the 2019 Big 12 Championship at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course.

"We did OK, didn't really exceed expectations too much," associate head coach Jon Capron said. "That said, we still had some pretty good performances."

Kicking off the morning with the men's 8,000-meter race, Sugg set the pace with a time of 24:55.5 to place 32^nd. Connor Laktasic (39^th) was next up with a personal-best 8K time of 25:09.1, followed by Ryan Day (53^rd – 25:45.0), Ryan Hodge (56^th – 25:55.3) and Cal Johnston (65^th – 26:18.2) to complete the scoring for the Bears.

"On the guys' side, we were a shade off in the pack," Capron said. "We held our own, kind of held serve a little bit, but didn't really over-exceed expectations. I think they know that, but we've got another race. I think regionals is going to set up really well for them to be able to end this season where we want to."

In the women's 6,000-meter race, Walton continued her breakout senior season by leading Baylor on the biggest stage thus far with a personal-best time of 21:47.6 to place 32nd. Celia Holmes wasn't far behind in 42^nd (22:08.8), while Gabby Satterlee (49^th – 22:15.1), Sarah Antrich (51^st – 22:21.1) and Sophia Leidner (57^th – personal-best 22:47.2) rounded out the scoring for BU.

"I thought Lindsay was brave and got up there and got in the mix," Capron said. "You look at where she was last year to this year, I think she's probably cut her place in half. She ran great, Celia ran well, and Gabby held on. Sarah in her second race of the year was up there in our top five. And then Sophia really caught fire a little bit. I was really impressed with how she got in there and mixed it up."

Iowa State won the men's championship with a score of 34, well ahead of runner-up Oklahoma State at 58 points. On the women's side, Oklahoma State edged Texas for the title with a score of 52 to 54.

Next up for Baylor is the NCAA South Central Regional Championship Nov. 15 in Fayetteville, Ark.

For updates on Baylor cross country throughout the season, follow @BaylorTrack on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Baylor Men's Results
32. TJ Sugg - 24:55.5
39. Connor Laktasic - 25:09.1
53. Ryan Day - 25:45.0
56. Ryan Hodge - 25:55.3
65. Cal Johnston - 26:18.2

Baylor Women's Results
32. Lindsay Walton - 21:47.6
42. Celia Holmes - 22:08.8
49. Gabby Satterlee - 22:15.1
51. Sarah Antrich - 22:21.1
57. Sophia Leidner - 22:47.2