University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
C-USA Championships
Cross Country Finishes Second at the C-USA Championships
11/2/2019 12:31:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country
Four members of the squad finished with All-Conference honors.
The Golden Eagles finished with 74 points overall and a total time of 1:29:18. They had a spread of 0:50.6 and an average time of 17:52. Four of the nine runners finished with an All-Conference accolade.
Sandra Szpott led the flock, finishing in ninth place and earning herself a spot on the All-Conference Second Team for her 17:32.06 finish. Running in a trio were sophomore Lina May, redshirt junior Emma Kate Holdbrooks and junior Kate Mattox. May finished with a time of 17:45.07 in 12th place, cruising to a new personal best. Holdbrooks finished in 13th place with a time of 17:47.56; she and May both earned Second Team All-Conference honors. Mattox came in 15th after running a 17:50.43 race, placing herself on Third Team All-Conference.
Monika Gebarzewska ran to a 18:22.60 finish, placing 25th. The freshman, Katelyn Cartwright, blew her previous personal best out of the water, finishing in 18:27.85. Regen McGee finished in 34th, crossing the line in 18:29.88. In 38th was Savannah McMillon, who finished in 18:40.80. Sarah McMillon came in 52nd with a time of 19:01.95.
Head Cross Country Coach Aaron Kindt
"Fantastic day for Southern Miss. The ladies ran really gutsy races on a challenging course. All year we knew if we could stick together we could be a top-2 team in November. Today they put all the pieces together and were able to come away with the best finish in school history.
Sandra has been our leader all year and today she gutted out a really tough race against the best our conference has to offer finishing top-10.
Lina and Emma Kate were aggressive early and didn't let off the gas despite the challenging terrain. Those two have grown so much the last 12 months and today was a payoff to all the hard work they've put in. Kate Mattox ran one of her best races ever as a Golden Eagle. The amount of heart and grit Kate shows every time she puts on that jersey is truly special. I couldn't be more proud of her today.
Monika Gebarzewska and Katelyn Cartwright rounded out the scoring today with a pair of big efforts. Monika is a senior, she knew what was on the line today. She hit a wall but continued to fight every step to make sure we held our ground in the team scoring. Katelyn Cartwright has made a huge jump in the last month and she has an exciting future as a Golden Eagle.
Can't say enough about this team today. Happy for them and all the work they've put in the last 5 months."
Head Track and Field Coach Jon Stuart
"I'm always impressed with our cross country team because they run with such heart. Today was no different; they were tough from start to finish. Coach Kindt has been masterful in building a team that competes for trophies each season. He had the girls ready to fight today!"
Next Up
The Golden Eagles will begin preparing for the 2019 NCAA South Region Championships, held this year in Tallahassee, Fla. at the Apalachee Regional Park.
Players Mentioned
