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Saints Men Capture Eighth Red River Championships
Posted: Nov 03, 2023

Saints Men Capture Eighth Red River Championships

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TEXARKANA, TEXAS (Nov. 3, 2023) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's cross-country has won its eighth Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Cross-Country Championships. The event took place Friday morning at Texarkana, Texas.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, "The guys executed their race plans well. We based our plans on positioning and racing the second half, and we did well. The men will need their best performance of the year at nationals to attempt a top-20 team finish."

The men's team marked 24 points to win the 8K. The Saints were followed by Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) with 41 points, Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) with 78 points, the University of the Southwest (USW) with 92 points, Huston-Tillotson University (HTU) with 146 points and Jarvis Christian University (JCU) with 166 points.

Kruz Malesich placed second for the Saints with a time of 26:17, followed by Vincent Garza with a time of 26:26 for third place, JoseCarlos Hernandez with a time of 26:29 for fourth place, Sebastian Moreno with a time of 26:49 for seventh place, Anthony Perez with a time of  27:00 for eighth place, Hector Puente with a time of 27:08 for ninth place and Jose Saucedo with a time of 27:35 for 10th place. All made the All-Conference Team and will participate in the 68th Annual NAIA Men's Cross-Country National Championships Nov. 17 in Vancouver, Wash.

Other finishers for the Saints were Tony Favella with a time of 27:45 for 11th place, Sigifredo Salinas with a time of 27:54 for 12th place and Jose Perez with a time of 28:58 for 15th place. There were a total of 42 runners.

Vincent Garza was named Freshmen of the Year, and Head Coach Patrick Torres received his fourth consecutive Coach of the Year honors.  

The men's team has won the last nine titles dating back to 2015. In 2010, the men placed seventh, and in 2012 the came in fourth place. In 2013, the Saints finished in third place and in 2014, they were runners-up. Last year, the men won but were disqualified because of an ineligible runner.