NATCHITOCHES, La. - Both Sam Stabler and Mittu Hukka downed league records, claimed individual championships and led the Lamar cross country teams to a sweep of the 2014 Southland Conference Cross Championships for the second-straight year on Monday at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex.
"We're really proud of both groups. I think we did a really good job of competing," said cross country coach Darren Gauson. "We were the defending champion so we knew we'd have the target on our backs.
"We came out to win on both sides and we were able to do that today," he said. "It was very nice to pick up the two individual championships too."
Lamar's men put up a score of 26 points, same score as 2013, to win their eighth title in the last nine years. The women won their race with 20 points scored, best mark in Southland Conference history.
Stabler set the 8,000-meter record with a 23:29.1 time and led a Lamar group that finished with four Cardinals in the top six and five in the top 10. The next closet time to Stabler was over 13 seconds behind in Stephen F. Austin's Charles Mathenge.
Stabler's mark bested a time of 23:33 held by David Rooney of McNeese State, set in 2012.
Alex Dunbar put up a time of 23:56.9 to grab fourth place, Michael Kershaw crossed in fifth with a 24.12.0 time, Jan Lukas Becker was in sixth place with a 24:12.9 mark. Ryan Creech, who battled a foot injury throughout the race, finished in 10th place with a 24:25.4 mark.
"The group as a whole did very well," said Gauson. "We are such a tight-knit group, so everyone wanted to win it for each other.
"We did a great job of getting into position and settled in nicely," he said. "We worked together as a pack and started to pull away as a group."
Hukka put up a blistering time of 20:06.6 in the 6,000-meter race followed by Leigh Lattimore in second place with a 20:44.3 time, Jannika John's 20:49.6 mark placed her third and Verity Ockenden finished in fourth place with a 20:54.5 time.
Hukka's time broke the previous record of 20:24.7 held by Lamar's own Ashley Monteau, set in 2004.
"We have a very strong team. So it's very good to be able to train with these girls," said Hukka. "We work out together and have a little competition with each other, so it is very good for everyone.
"(Both teams) are like a big family, and we cheer on each other. The guys were very good as well," said Hukka. "Of course we tell ourselves we had to win because the guys did, but it's more of everyone just cheering each other on."
The women's team took the top four spots and finished with five in the top 10. Evelyn Chavez placed 10th with a 21:19.0 mark.
Stabler was the second individual champion in as many years for Lamar after Matt Johnsen claimed the prize last season. Dunbar and Kershaw joined the Leicester, England native as first-team All-Southland Conference members. Stabler's championship gave Lamar the eighth individual SLC champion in school history, which tops the league.
It was the Lady Cardinals' first individual champion since Clerc Koenck claimed the honor in 2006 and 2007. Lattiemore, John and Ockenden joined Hukka, native of Kotka Finland, as first team all-conference honorees.
"We're really a tight-knit group on both sides, and it is all about the team winning today," said Gauson.
The sweep of both team championships gave Lamar back-to-back sweeps after 2013's victory, which is the first time a program has swept two year's straight since Stephen F. Austin did it in 2002 and 2003. It was the 13th overall conference championship for the men's side and fifth for the women.
On the women's side, SFA was the runner-up with a score of 50. Sam Houston State finished in third (106), followed by McNeese State (122), Abilene Christian (122), Incarnate Word (160), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Houston Baptist (211), Southeastern Louisiana (247), Northwestern State (286), Central Arkansas (288) and Nicholls (309).
SFA also was the runner-up in the men's race with a score of 48. McNeese State finished with a score of 97, followed by Corpus Christi (107), UCA (128), Sam Houston State (148), HBU (206), UIW (242), ACU (274), Northwestern State (292), SLU (294), New Orleans (344) and Nicholls (399).
Megan Flanagan finished in 26th on the women's side with a 22:08.9 mark and Belinda Aguilar marked at 22:55.2 for the 36th spot. Stu Ferguson finished the men's race in 19th after a 24:57.9 mark and Tobias Riker was two spots behind with a 25:01.3 mark.
Becker and Creech grabbed second team all-conference honors for the men while Chavez took the award for the women.
Next up for the Lamar will be the NCAA South Central Regionals, held at the University of Arkansas on Nov. 14.
"With us ranked third in the regional, we are trying to do everything we can to get into the top two in the region," said Gauson. "Really it will be about recovery and just sharping them up a little bit between now and then."
