Sept. 5, 2007

IRVING, Texas - Seven cross country teams will be in action this weekend. Hitting the course on Friday is Houston, Southern Miss, Tulane, UCF, while SMU and UAB women as well as UTEP will see action on Saturday.

UPCOMING MEETS
Fri., Sept. 7
Houston host Cougar Classic - Houston, Texas
Southern Miss and Tulane at 27th Annual Southern Miss Invitational - Hattiesburg, Miss.
UCF at Mountain Dew Invitational - Gainesville, Fla.

Sat., Sept. 8
SMU (w) at Movin' Mavs Invitational - Arlington, Texas
UAB at Alabama-Huntsville Classic - Huntsville, Ala.
UTEP at Lobo Invitational - Albuquerque, N.M.

SEPT. 5: C-USA CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK

CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MALE
Eric Harris, Tulsa
So., Conway, Ark.
Sophomore Eric Harris clocked a four-mile personal-best time of 19:51 at the Hurricane Festival. He finished fifth overall in a tough field that featured runners from intrastate rivals Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Harris also guided the Golden Hurricane to a third-place showing.

FEMALE
Elizabeth Ambrus, UAB
Sr., Arlington Heights, Ill.
Senior Elizabeth Ambrus led the Blazers to a tie for third place at the Belmont Opener. Ambrus took home individual runner-up honors for the second-straight year. She ran the 4K course in a time of 14:10.88.

2007 ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Conference USA names a male and female Cross Country Athlete of the Week. The Athlete of the Week awards are selected by the C-USA media relations department and announced every Tuesday throughout the season.

September 5
Male - Eric Harris, Tulsa
Female - Elizabeth Ambrus, UAB

TEAM CAPSULES

EAST CAROLINA
Idle last week. Set to open the 2007 schedule on Sept. 7 at the Seahawk Invitational in Wilmington, N.C.

HOUSTON
After an hour rain delay, Houston women took sixth and the men placed seventh at the Baylor Twilight Invitational in Waco, Texas. Senior Oumama Hallal led the way for the women with a 5K time of 15:07.3 for 26th overall. Kelcee Keenan placed 34th with a time of 15:29.8, followed by teammate Jessica Cook who finished close behind at 15:33 for 38th. Sophomore Daniel Martinez was out front for the Cougar men notching in a time of 19:12.4 in the 6K for a 19th place finish. Ahmed Harb placed 24th after a time of 19:20.6, Nathan Trimble ran a 20:37.7 for a 54th place finish and Anthony Keller finished 60th with a time of 20:54.6.

MARSHALL
Marshall opened the 2007 season at the Eastern Kentucky Open in Richmond, Ky. The meet was a dual between host EKU, Kentucky and Marshall. Both programs finished second to each. Leading the Thundering Herd men was junior Travis Epling who clocked a 14th-place time of 9:52.1. For the women, Marshall was sparked by the performances from junior Emily Bailey and freshman Darby Mullen 12:19.4 (16th) and 12:21.7 (17th) finishes.

MEMPHIS
Idle last week. Set to open the 2007 schedule on Sept. 15 at the Old Timers Classic in Bowling Green, Ky.

RICE
Idle last week. Set to open the 2007 schedule on Sept. 15 at the 33rd Annunal Rice Invitational in Houston.

SMU
SMU opened up its 2007 season with a fourth-place finish at the Baylor Twilight Invitational in Waco, Texas. Freshman runner Samantha Means topped the Mustang with a time of 14:13.8 for a 12th-place overall finish. Senior Sierra Anderson ran the course in a time of 14:31.8 for 16th place. Other SMU finishers include senior Krystal Rodriguez (15:31.1 - 28th place), sophomore Kelsey Howard (15:35.2 - 31st place), and senior Ilyssa Pettigrew (15:52.5 - 34th place).

SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss finished third out of six teams at the Tulane Green Wave Invitational on Friday. Newcomer Parris Hodges covered the two-mile course in a time of 13:24.72 as the top finisher for the Golden Eagles. Kelley Rooney ran a time of 13:33.09, finishing 12th, while Gerrelaine Alcordo clocked a time of 14:09.18, for 15th. Rounding out the Southern Miss crew included Stephanie Jones-DuBose finishing 20th with a time of 14:22.06, Ronna Sandoval finished 22nd with a time of 14:37.42; LaSheika Dinkins finished 25th with a time of 14:54.12 and Kenika Weaver finished 31st with a time of 16:35.38.

TULANE
Tulane swept the Green Wave Invitational Friday as they recorded the top five individual finishers for a perfect score of 15. The team title marked the first time since 2003 that Tulane won its home meet. Rebecca Coady won the short two-mile race just ahead of senior team captain Aubrey Phillips. Freshman Laurie Dalrymple, junior Cecelia Clarke and senior Jill Shriver rounded out the top five, respectively. The win bodes well for the Green Wave going into the season which features big meets at Auburn, LSU and the Chili Pepper in Fayetteville, Ark.

TULSA
Tulsa began the 2007 season by hosting the Hurricane Festival at Mohawk Park in Tulsa. The men's team, running without its top three returnees, suffered losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State but the women's program defeated Oklahoma State, but a lost to Oklahoma. C-USA Athlete of the Week, sophomore Eric Harris, topped the men with a fifth-place time of 19:51 in the four-mile race. Sophomore Lana Kelley led the TU women's with a fifth-place time of 11:28 in the two-mile race. Kelley was followed closely by teammates Maryke Rossouw (11:30) in sixth, Ashley Aitken (11:31) in seventh and Dawn Nagazina (11:39) in eighth.

UAB
Senior Elizabeth Ambrus led UAB to a tie for third place at the Belmont Opener Friday. The Blazers placed five runners in the top 25. Ambrus took home runner-up honors for the second-straight year with a time of 14:10.88 on the 4K course. Freshman Stephanie Gammon had a promising start to her career, crossing the line in 13th place in a time of 15:02.49. Whitney Mays posted her best time of 15:06.14 for 15th place. Newcomer Lacey Wright (15:18.40) placed 20th, while Kristina Olsen (15:23.39) finished 25th to round out the scoring.

UCF
Idle last week. Set to open the 2007 schedule on Sept. 7 at the Mountain Dew Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.

UTEP
Idle last week. Set to open the 2007 schedule on Sept. 8 at the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.