Texas A&M University – Commerce cross country team will be hosting the Lone Star Conference (LSC) meet on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Eddie Moore Sports Park.
Leading up to the meet, the Lions have received two accolades in the last week.
REGIONALLY RANKED
The Lions were ranked 10th, thanks in large part to their recent performance at the Memphis Twilight Classic meet in Memphis, Tenn. At the Classic, the Lions finished third among Division II teams, and 12th overall. Harding University and Missouri Rolla were the two Division II teams who defeated the Lions.
In placing third among Division II teams, the Lions defeated four teams who had been regionally ranked. Alabama-Huntsville had been ranked No.3, and finished 13th. Columbus State had been ranked No. 9, and finished in 22nd place. Christian Brothers had been ranked No. 9, and finished with a 18th place finish, and Northwest Missouri state, who had previously been ranked No. 10, finished in 16th place.
It was the first time that the Lions have been regionally ranked since the 2005 season.
NEW ADDITION PROVES HUGE FOR LIONS
In addition to the Lions being regionally ranked, Tyler Tyndell was named LSC Runner of the Week on Oct. 12. The honor for Tyndell comes after he helped the Lions to the 12th place finish in Memphis.
In the meet, Tyndell finished fifth among Division II runners, as well as finishing 20th among collegiate runners and 29th overall in the meet, with a time of 25:33.30. Tyndell has been a top finisher for the Lions in all four meets in 2007.
“Tyler has run well in every meet this year and certainly deserves the award especially finishing as high as he did at the Christian Brothers meet in Memphis. The training program we are on is very similar to what he did last year, so he has bought into it and works extremely hard in both practice and on meet day,” cross country head coach Rich Lawrence said.
Tyndell came to A&M-C from nearby Paris High School, where he graduated in 2006. While at Paris, he set the record in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter run, both of which he still holds the record for.
Along with the school records he set at Paris, Tyndell was a two-time state qualifier in cross country and track and field. As a senior, Tyndell finished sixth place in the state meet in the 3,200-meter run.
He spent his freshman season at Oklahoma Baptist University, where he was named all-region and all-conference during the cross country season in 2006.
OBU cross country advanced to the NAIA national championships, where the team placed fourth, and Tyndell placed 55th. He was also part of the OBU indoor track and field team, where he was a national qualifier in the 5,000-meter run in 2007.
HERE THEY COME
Next up for the Lions, is the Lone Star Conference championship meet, which they will be hosting on Sat, Oct. 20. The women’s race starts at 9:30 a.m., with the men starting at 10:30 a.m.
Some of the teams that will likely be participating in the LSC meet, include A&M-C, Angelo State, Abilene Christian, Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Kingsville
Abilene Christian will be coming into the meet with the hopes of attaining a few different individual and team awards.
Nicodemus Naimudu, who is on the men’s team, will be trying for his third LSC individual championship title in as many years. Naimudu also has been the South Central Regional champion for the last three seasons, as well as three-time individual national champion for cross country.
In addition to Naimudu, the men’s team will also be looking to gain momentum and strength from Serge Gasore, in hopes of winning their 17th straight LSC championship.
The Abilene Christian women’s team is coming into the meet in hopes of winning their 7th straight LSC championship.
A&M-C should come into the LSC meet with momentum due to recent performances at the Memphis Twilight meet, as well as strong performances throughout the fall from Paris native Tyndell.
“I feel that the accomplishments of the whole team and its regional ranking will intensify the meet for us. We are looking for a good showing from both our men and women. The women have improved their times and are running much more competitive. If the Lone Star Track Meet last spring is any indication, our athletes should perform well on our home course, which we are familiar with,” Lawrence said about his thoughts on A&M-C hosting the LSC meet.