NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of the Incarnate Word women's and men's cross country team competed in the Southland Conference Championship on Friday, November 1, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Freshman Vera Yohanna-Maisaje led the women's side to a fifth-place finish, while Griffin Neal and company led the men's side to a first-place finish. It was an all-around dominant performance from the men's team, who controlled the whole race from start to finish. All results can be found here. 

Awards: 
Griffin Neal (First Team All-Conference) 

Christopher Daniels (First Team All-Conference) 

Kevin Hernandez (First Team All-Conference) 

Anthony Zapata (First Team All-Conference) 

Kamron Loera (Second Team All-Conference & Newcomer of the Year) 

Bryan Mileski (Second Team All-Conference) 

Jared Laverty (Second Team All-Conference) 

Vera Yohanna-Maisaje (Second Team All-Conference) 

All season long, the women's team competed and showed resilience, picking up four top-five finishes, including a first-place finish in the team's first meet. Yohanna-Maisaje was named to the SLC All-Conference second team after finishing in 12th place.  

"I am proud of the ladies for competing so hard this morning," said head coach Dr. Derek Riedel. "At one point late in the race we had moved up to 3rd. Given that 6 out of our top 7 were freshmen and sophomores, that was an outstanding outcome. We ran into some bad luck with some illness coming into the race, but it didn't stop them from going after it. The future is so bright for the women. They have the right mentality and drive to be great, so I know their time is coming soon." 

After last year's disappointing ending at the SLC Championship, the men's team entered today with one goal in mind. The men accomplished that goal by dominating the field from start to finish. Seven Cardinals earned All-Conference accolades while also having the Newcomer of the Year and Coach of the Year.  

"Last year hurt," said head coach Dr. Derek Riedel. "We had our best-ever team and had an all-time best season with our only blip on the radar being an unfortunate one-point loss at conference. I'm so proud of the men for using it to fuel them the last year. It galvanized them, refocused the group, and with some outstanding new additions and top-level leadership the men took care of business today. They came into the race focused on leaning on their aggressive pack mentality and running as one. They ran as one heart, one cohesive unit. Selfless leadership and one common focus led to a dominant victory." 

The Cardinals are back in action on November 15th at the South-Central Regional Championships 
in College Station, Texas.  

FOLLOW ALONG  
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--UIW CARDINALS--