SEGUIN, Texas – Every member of the Concordia University Texas men's and women's cross country teams ran their season best time at the American Southwest Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday morning on the campus of Texas Lutheran University.

The Concordia women tied for 6th overall, totaling 178 pts. The team was led by Freshman Joli Bula. Joli placed 5th overall out of 81 runners with a time of 25:03 on the 6k course. Joli's performance earned her 1st team all conference honors. Her time also breaks the school record ran by Sarah Bates in 2003. Sophomore Christine Gilbert finished 34th overall with a time of 27:34. Her time was over 45 seconds better than her previous best. 

Senior Angel Emerson raced her last conference race for Concordia running a personal best time of 28:27 placing 44th overall. Freshman Valerie Fusilier continued to run well this season with a season best 29:09 earning her 53rd overall. Anna Marie Galvan rounded out the scoring with a season best 31:59, placing 69th overall. 

“I can't say enough on how proud I am of this group, they ran their best when it counted and left it all out on the course today” said Coach Alex Aldaco. 

The Concordia men also had a strong showing, Senior Stephen Wright led the men's team to an 8th place finish totaling 208 pts. Stephen's time of 29:46 was a season best placing 36th out of 72 runners. 

Freshman Warren Sanders ran a season best time of 30:21 placing 40th overall. Warren improved over 2 minutes from the beginning of the season. Sophomore Mark Passell ran a season best 32:17 placing 42nd overall. Senior Ryan Roehr ran 32:45 placing 54th overall. Mark Giardinelli ran a season best by almost 2 minutes running 38:16 placing 70th overall. “The guys really came together today and ran well. I am very pleased on how hard they raced today” said Coach Alex Aldaco.

Coach Aldaco had this to say of the conference performance. “I am pleased how everyone raced. We have been focused on this race since the summer. They implemented the game plan perfectly and ran their best possible today. As a coach you can't ask for anything else from your team.”

Both Concordia cross country teams return to action on November15 when they travel back to Seguin, Texas, for the Division III Regional Championships. Texas Lutheran University will also host the regional meet.