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Email: witt@uiwtx.edu or phone: 210.829.3828.

Women's Cross Country News

TEAM GETS ACADEMIC HONORS -- posted Wednesday, February 27 2008

Incarnate Word’s women’s cross country team for the second year has been rated among the top academic squads in the NCAA Division II.

Based on their cumulative grade point average of 3.44, the Cardinals have been designated as an Academic All-American Team. That GPA tied for the 37th best in the nation. A total of 99 teams met the qualifying standards for the recognition.

UIW runners on the academic elite squad were sophomore Rose Caldwell, senior Yvonne Rodriguez, sophomore Maggie Callahan, freshman Melissa Martinez, freshman Alma Santos, and freshman Sonya Solorio.

Earlier, Caldwell, a cultural studies major, was named to the Academic All-American team by the cross country coaches association. That award was based on her 3.64 GPA and her high finish in the regional cross country meet. In the Heartland Conference she was freshman of the year.

CALDWELL GETS ALL-AMERICAN RECOGNITION -- posted Monday, February 18 2008

Incarnate Word’s Rose Caldwell has been named an Academic All-American by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

A cultural studies major at UIW, Caldwell has maintained 3.64 grade point average in the classroom.

In the fall of 2007, she finished fifth in the Heartland Conference championships and advanced to the South Central Regional meet where she placed 33rd which put her in the top 30 per cent making her eligible for All-American honors.

Based on her Heartland performance she was all-conference and was named freshman of the year for the league.

To be eligible for USTFCCCA national honors, runners must have completed 24 semester hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better, plus the finish in the regional competition.

TOP 20 FINISH BY RODRIGUEZ PACES UIW AT REGIONAL -- posted Saturday, November 3 2007

Senior Yvonne Rodriguez capped her collegiate cross country career with a 17th place finish at Saturday’s NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championships held in Joplin, Mo.

Rodriguez covered the 8K course in 22:26.5 for the 17th position among the 118 total runners from 16 schools. This run came on the heels of her championship run at the Heartland Conference meet two weeks prior.

UIW sophomore Rose Caldwell toured the course in 22:59.4 and that was good for a 35th place finish. As a team, the Cardinals were 12th among the 16 entries.

Host Missouri Southern, the number one ranked team in the region, made the standings hold up with a victory in the team category. Abilene Christian, ranked third in the region, finished second ahead of Pittsburg State, the region’s number two team. In those same rankings, Incarnate Word is 10th.


NCAA® Division II South Central Regional Cross Country Championships

WOMEN TEAM RESULTS
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. MISSOURI SOUTHERN
4 7 8 14 32 (41) (56) = 65
2. ABILENE CHRISTIAN
1 3 5 25 67 (88) (91) = 101
3. PITTSBURG ST.
16 22 26 36 39 (46) (48) = 139
4. FORT HAYS ST.
21 24 31 38 49 (50) (52) = 163
5. DALLAS BAPTIST
13 18 34 44 61 (80) (94) = 170
6. SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
15 20 37 47 63 (68) (81) = 182
7. NW MISSOURI
9 27 40 57 62 (82) (98) = 195
8. TRUMAN STATE
6 12 53 64 84 (86) = 219
9. U OF CENTRAL MISSOURI
10 19 42 74 79 (100) = 224
10. EAST CENTRAL
11 45 55 65 75 (89) (92) = 251
11. WEST TEXAS A&M
28 43 54 60 69 (76) (77) = 254
12. INCARNATE WORD
17 33 51 78 85 (102) = 264
YVONNE RODRIGUEZ, ROSE CALDWELL, MELISSA MARTINEZ, CALLAHAN MAGGIE,
ALMA SANTOS, SONYA SOLORIO
13. TARLETON STATE
29 35 66 70 72 (73) (97) = 272
14. CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
23 58 71 83 93 = 328
15. EMPORIA ST.
2 59 87 90 96 (101) = 334
16. LINCOLN (MO.)
30 95 99 103 104 (105)(106) = 431

Place Name School Time
===== ==== ===== =======================
1 Winrose Karunde ABILENE CHRISTIAN 20:39.8
2 Jonel Rossbach EMPORIA ST. 20:40.3
3 Loice Cheboi ABILENE CHRISTIAN 21:20.8
4 Kimi Shank MISSOURI SOUTHERN 21:28.8
5 Mary Mwangi ABILENE CHRISTIAN 21:43.5
17 Yvonne Rodriguez INCARNATE WORD 22:26.5
35 Rose Caldwell INCARNATE WORD 22:59.4
53 Melissa Martinez INCARNATE WORD 23:38.2
83 Callahan Maggie INCARNATE WORD 24:29.2
91 Alma Santos INCARNATE WORD 24:45.9
111 Sonya Solorio INCARNATE WORD 26:51.4


.

CARDINAL WOMEN REGIONALLY RANKED -- posted Wednesday, October 24 2007

Close on the heels of an impressive showing in the Heartland Conference championships, the Incarnate Word women’s cross country team has been included among the elite of the region.

The US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has placed the Cardinals in the 10th slot for the South/Central Region of Division II. This is believed to be the first time a UIW cross country team has been recognized at the regional level.

Recently Incarnate Word hosted the Heartland meet in San Antonio and the Cardinals ran their way to a second place finish in the team standings. On the individual side, UIW senior Yvonne Rodriguez won the title by finishing 36 seconds ahead of her nearest competition.

With the win Rodriguez was named the Heartland’s runner of the year. Teammate Rose Caldwell finished fifth overall and was voted freshman runner of the year for the conference.

SOUTH/CENTRAL REGIONAL RANKINGS (Week 7, Oct. 23rd)

1) Missouri Southern
2) Pittsburg State (Kan)
3) Abilene Christian
4) Southwest Baptist (Mo)
5) Central Missouri
6) Tarleton State
7) Dallas Baptist
8) West Texas A&M
9) Ft. Hays State (Kan)
10) Incarnate Word

RODRIGUEZ WINS THREE, CALDWELL TWO -- posted Monday, October 22 2007

Incarnate Word senior Yvonne Rodriguez was a triple winner at the recent Heartland Conference cross country championships.

Rodriguez won the 5K race conducted at the San Antonio State School with a time of 17:56.1. That finish was some 36 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

With the victory, she was named to the All-Heartland Conference list.

Additionally, she was voted runner of the year for the Heartland.

Rose Caldwell of Incarnate Word was a double winner after the competition. Her time of 18:51.8 was good for fifth place overall which earned her all-conference honors.

And with that finish, Caldwell was voted the Heartland's freshman runner of the year.

With a 13th place finish in a time of 20:04.1 sophomore Maggie Callahan received all-conference honorable mention honors.

As a team the Cardinals finished in second place, just six points (39-45) behind team winner Dallas Baptist.

RODRIGUEZ DOMINATES HEARTLAND MEET; UIW SECOND -- posted Saturday, October 20 2007

Senior Yvonne Rodriguez took an early lead Saturday afternoon and came home 36 seconds ahead of her nearest challenger in the Heartland Conference cross country championships run at the San Antonio State School.

Rodriguez never trailed in the race and in doing so topped the UIW team which finished in second place with 45 points. Dallas Baptist captured the team title with 39 points.

Sophomore Rose Caldwell in 5th at 18:51.6 along with freshman Melissa Martinez at 9th with 19:30.4 gave the Cardinals three runners in the top 10. Dallas Baptist countered the Incarnate Word attack with four runners in the top 10.

Other UIW finishers were sophomore Maggie Callahan in 13th at 20:04.1, freshman Alma Santos with a 20:37.8 for 18th, freshman Lindsay Davidson with a 20:49.3 for 20th, and a 22:53.5 by freshman Sonya Solorio good for 40th overall.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1) Dallas Baptist, 39 points
2) Incarnate Word, 45
3) St. Mary’s, 95
4) Lincoln, 108
5) Newman, 118
6) Texas / Permian Basin, 151
7) Texas A&M International, 200
8) St. Edward’s, 204
9) Oklahoma Panhandle, 238

FINAL UIW INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Place Name School Time
1 Yvonne Rodriguez Incarnate Word 17:56.1
5 Rose Caldwell Incarnate Word 18:51.8
9 Melissa Martinez Incarnate Word 19:30.4
13 Maggie Callahan Incarnate Word 20:04.1
18 Alma Santos Incarnate Word 20:37.8
20 Lindsay Davidson Incarnate Word 20:49.3
40 Sonya Solorio Incarnate Word 22:53.5

HEARTLAND CONFERENCE MEET COMES TO UIW -- posted Monday, October 15 2007

The Heartland Conference is coming to San Antonio and on Saturday (October 20) more than 100 runners will compete for both men’s and women’s team and individual championships in cross country.

Incarnate Word is the host school for the annual championships and the meet will be run at the San Antonio State School on South New Braunfels Avenue nearby 281 South and Pecan Valley Drive.

The women’s 5K race with more than 60 entries from eight Heartland schools will begin at 5:45 p.m. At 6:30 p.m. the gun will fire on the men’s 8K race which has nearly 50 entries from six conference schools.

The UIW women are the league favorites according to a pre-season coaches poll and the Cardinal runners have solidified their prediction with top finishes all fall long. Senior Yvonne Rodriguez will lineup as the individual favorite Saturday based on her first place win in the UIW Invitational and her third place finish at the prestigious Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree.

Sophomore Shayn Weidner of Incarnate Word is the major Cardinals threat for top honors. Earlier in the fall he
had a top 20 finish at the Cowboy Jamboree and he finished 38th among more than 260 runners at the annual National Catholic Championships hosted by Notre Dame University.

St. Edward’s is the defending men’s Heartland champion while the women’s title is vacant as last year’s winner,
Montana State / Billings, has left the conference. In 2006 the UIW women were second.

RODRIGUEZ POSTS SCHOOL MARK IN VICTORY -- posted Saturday, October 6 2007

RODRIGUEZ CAPTURES INDIVIDUAL TITLE AT UIW MEET

Senior Yvonne Rodriguez turned a school record for the 5K Saturday and in doing so captured the individual title at the UIW Cross Country Invitational run at San Antonio’s State School.

Rodriguez became the first-ever UIW runner to drop below the 18-minute mark for a 5K race with her winning time of 17:45.

Freshman Melissa Martinez was 10th with a time of 19:09, sophomore Rose Caldwell was 12th in 19:16, and sophomore Maggie Callahan was 18th at 19:45 giving Incarnate Word four runners in the top 20 finishers and the Cardinals were second overall as a team.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1) Trinity, 46 points
2) Incarnate Word, 62
3) Texas / San Antonio, 92
4) Texas State, 101
5) Texas A&M / Kingsville, 120
6) St. Mary’s, 132
7) Prairie View A&M, 148
8) St. Edward’s, 204
9) Texas A&M International, 246

FINAL INDIVIDUALS

Place Name School Time
1 Andrea Jarzombek Unattached 16:45.9
2 Yvonne Rodriguez Incarnate Word 17:45.2
3 Emily Loeffler Trinity (Tex.) 17:55.7
4 Dana Mecke Texas-San Antonio 18:04.2
5 Caitlin Masse Trinity (Tex.) 18:22.7
6 Katya Kostetskaya Texas State 18:34.3
7 Faith Barlow Texas-San Antonio 18:42.2
8 Lindsey Grewe Unattached 18:46.9
9 Erica Alvarado Tex. A&M-Kingsville 18:48.0
10 Raquel Tidwell Tex. A&M-Kingsville 18:57.4
11 Tara Wicketts St. Mary's (Tex.) 19:07.2
12 Melissa Martinez Incarnate Word 19:09.1
13 Casey DeWitt Unattached - TX State 19:10.1
14 Jennifer Burn Trinity (Tex.) 19:15.7
15 Rose Caldwell Incarnate Word 19:16.0
16 Amy Crissman St. Mary's (Tex.) 19:20.9
17 Tasha Lovell Trinity (Tex.) 19:25.6
18 Leda McDaniel Trinity (Tex.) 19:35.2
19 Kelly Butler Texas State 19:38.1
20 Kimberly Weeth Trinity (Tex.) 19:38.2
21 Callahan Maggie Incarnate Word 19:45.9
22 Megan Rouch Trinity (Tex.) 19:48.6
23 Adalit Casanova Texas-San Antonio 19:54.4
24 Alma Santos Incarnate Word 19:56.8
25 Liana Garcia Texas-San Antonio 19:57.7
26 Alison Hoing Trinity (Tex.) 20:00.0
27 Claire Parnell Trinity (Tex.) 20:03.4
28 Lara Abbott St. Edward's 20:13.8
29 Viktoria Manuel Prairie View 20:26.8
30 Liat Anav Texas State 20:30.4
31 Rebecca Dietz Trinity (Tex.) 20:31.7
32 Victoria Cantu Prairie View 20:35.1
33 Lauren McKenna Texas State 20:37.4
34 Shanitra Garrett Texas State 20:41.4
35 Dani Cobb Trinity (Tex.) 20:45.1
36 Myra Lozano Tex. A&M-Kingsville 20:46.8
37 Claribel Quiorz Prairie View 20:52.7
38 Erin Oliver Texas State 20:54.7
39 Jessie Smith St. Mary's (Tex.) 20:56.4
40 Jenna Price Trinity (Tex.) 20:59.3
41 Ashley Gooden Prairie View 21:01.0
42 Melissa Recio St. Mary's (Tex.) 21:03.9
43 Dominque Martin Prairie View 21:08.4
44 Morgan Baima St. Edward's 21:09.5
45 Blair Condon Trinity (Tex.) 21:13.8
46 Denise Bazan Tex. A&M-Kingsville 21:13.8
47 Elizabeth Alexander Texas State 21:16.3
48 Kylie Ward Tex. A&M-Kingsville 21:23.8
49 Lindsay Davidson Incarnate Word 21:24.4
50 Liz Frost Trinity (Tex.) 21:25.1
51 Cordelia Robinson Texas-San Antonio 21:45.4
52 Lindsey Maxwell Texas State 22:13.1
53 Jenny Mendez Tex. A&M-Int'l 22:20.0
54 Yolunda Chatmon Prairie View 22:26.2
55 Genevieve Rodriguez Palo Alto unattached runners 22:28.9
56 Trina White St. Mary's (Tex.) 22:34.8
57 Lauren Sparks St. Edward's 22:38.1
58 Kevyn Oakes St. Edward's 22:43.6
59 Laura Barron Trinity (Tex.) 22:46.8
60 Sonya Solorio Incarnate Word 22:47.3
61 Gladys Pena Tex. A&M-Int'l 23:11.1
62 Brenda Perez Tex. A&M-Int'l 23:14.3
63 Ronda Tucker Prairie View 23:18.4
64 Minny Hernandez Unattached 23:27.9
65 Angie Warden Tex. A&M-Int'l 23:31.8
66 Karissa Reiter Texas State 23:33.4
67 Yesenia Bernal St. Mary's (Tex.) 23:45.1
68 Shannah Schafer St. Mary's (Tex.) 23:57.4
69 Amanda Benavidas St. Mary's (Tex.) 23:58.4
70 Allisa Stanzi St. Edward's 24:01.3
71 Jane Rogers St. Edward's 24:12.5
72 Jocelyn Wilson Prairie View 24:32.9
73 Melanie Contreras Palo Alto unattached runners 24:51.0
74 Rebecca Sanchez Tex. A&M-Int'l 25:22.9
75 Amanda Guerra Tex. A&M-Kingsville 26:39.4

HOST OF RUNNERS SET FOR UIW INVITATIONAL -- posted Monday, October 1 2007

Incarnate Word’s cross country teams, both men and women, have been to two large meets so far this fall and now
they will host their own.

The UIW Invitational set for the San Antonio State School on Saturday (October 6) at 7:30 a.m. with the college women's 5K. At 8 a.m. the collegiate men will run their 8K. After that, at 9 a.m. the high schools begin their competitions.

There will be six divisions, college men and women, and high school boys and girls varsity and JV. At the collegiate level, 22 teams are expected to bring a total of more than 200 runners.

The high school races will have more than 40 schools competing with an astounding 1,400-plus athletes.

RODRIGUEZ WITHIN SECONDS OF TITLE -- posted Saturday, September 29 2007

Incarnate Word's Yvonne Rodriguez came within a mere four seconds of capturing the women's individual title at the annual Cowboy Jamboree hosted by Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla. on Saturday.

Deemed one of the most prestigious cross country events of the fall season, the Jamboree attracted 21 collegiate teams and 207 individual runners for the 5,000-meter race. The Jamboree is one of the few cross country events conducted completely on the campus of the host institution.

Rodriguez covered the course in 18:45 to pace the UIW runners. That time placed her in third place, just four seconds behind the winner, Irene Kosgei of Cowley College who ran an 18:45.

That top finish by Rodriguez led Incarnate Word to a ninth place team finish with 231 points. Butler Community College of Kansas won the team event with 111 points.

FINAL TEAM RESULTS

1) Butler CC, 111 points
2) Dallas Baptist, 124
3) Central Oklahoma, 129
4) Tarleton State, 138
5) Colorado College, 150
9) Incarnate Word, 231

FINAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1) Irene Kosgei, Cowley, 18;41
3) Yvonne Rodriguez, Incarnate Word, 18:45
29) Melissa Martinez, Incarnate Word, 19:58
40) Rose Caldwell, Incarnate Word, 20:12
74) Alma Santos, Incarnate Word, 21:05
95) Maggie Callahan, Incarnate Word, 21:26
161) Sonya Solorio, Incarnate Word, 23:24

RODRIGUEZ AMONG LEADERS AT CATHOLIC CHAMPIONSHIPS -- posted Monday, September 17 2007

Senior Yvonne Rodriguez and her Incarnate Word teammates for the first time went to the National Catholic Cross Country Championships and the Corpus Christi product finished among the leaders at the annual event.

Hosted by the University of Notre Dame and run over the Notre Dame Golf Course in South Bend, Ind., the 5K event attracted 37 women’s teams with 306 individual runners.

There was a two-tier scoring system. One level included all teams from Divisions I, II, III and NAIA. The second competition scoring eliminated Division I schools with scores posted for the remaining teams.

In the all-comers division, Rodriguez, who ran an 18:55, finished 24th. With the Division I runners eliminated, the Tuloso-Midway graduate moved all the way up to second, just 11 seconds behind the winner, Margot Branigan of College of Saint Benedict.

In the team standings, Incarnate Word was 16th overall, and then jumped to 8th in the Division 2 competition.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
ALL DIVISIONS

1) Notre Dame, 23 points
2) Xavier (Ohio), 91
3) Duquesne (Pa), 110
4) St. Louis (Mo), 154
5) DePaul (Ill), 161
16) Incarnate Word, 560

FINAL INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
ALL DIVISIONS

1) Marissa Treece, Notre Dame, 16:24
2) Samantha Howard, Duquesne (Pa), 17:14
3) Claire Duck, DePaul (Ill), 17:17
24) Yvonne Rodriguez, Incarnate Word, 18:55
106) Rose Caldwell, Incarnate Word, 20:09
125) Melissa Martinez, Incarnate Word, 20:23
160) Alma Santos, Incarnate Word, 20:53
166) Maggie Callahan, Incarnate Word, 21:03
272) Sonya Solorio, Incarnate Word, 22:48

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
DIVISIONS II, III, NAIA

1) Bellarmine (Ky), 63 points
2) St. Benedict (Minn), 110
3) Loras (Iowa), 132
4) Regis (Colo), 153
5) St. Xavier (Ill), 179
8) Incarnate Word, 306

FINAL INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
DIVISIONS II, III, NAIA

1) Margot Branigan, St. Benedict (Minn), 18:44
2) Yvonne Rodriguez, Incarnate Word, 18:55
3) Anna Cote, Seton Hill (Pa), 19:02
49) Rose Caldwell, Incarnate Word, 20:09
61) Melissa Martinez, Incarnate Word, 20:23
91) Alma Santos, Incarnate Word, 20:53
111) Maggie Callahan, Incarnate Word, 21:03
190) Sonya Solorio, Incarnate Word, 22:48

CARDINAL PAIR RACE TO RELAYS VICTORY -- posted Saturday, September 1 2007

Incarnate Word’s Cardinals pulled off a one-seven finish Saturday in the annual UIW Cross Country Relays held in San Antonio.

Running on a muddy course from rains on the previous day, senior Yvonne Rodriguez and freshman Melissa Martinez covered their one mile each for a combined winning time of 24:46.8 at Live Oak City Park.

Finishing in seventh place were sophomore Maggie Callahan and sophomore Rose Caldwell with a combined time of 25:50.6.

Unexpected circumstances forced two other Cardinals, freshman Sonya Gibbs and freshman Sonya Gibbs to run the course as single entrants thus not qualifying for the two-person foremat.

FINAL RESULTS

1) Rodriguez-Martinez, UIW, 24:46.8
2) McDaniel-Weeth, Trinity, 25:05.2
3) Masse-Hoing, Trinity, 25:16.7
4) Lovell-Burn, Trinity, 25:21.2
5) Wicketts-Crissman, St. Mary’s, 25.27.7
6) Loeffler-Dill, Trinity, 25:48.6
7) Callahan-Caldwell, UIW, 25:50.6
8) Warner-Ratcliffe, Southwestern, 26:20.3
9) Price-Arthur, Trinity, 26:29.6
10) McGill-Dietrich, McMurry
11) Lahaie-Arnhamm, Southwestern, 27:07.7
12) Martinez-McEntire, Southwestern, 27:08.2
13) Parnell-Condon, Trinity, 27:16.6
14) Ortiz-Abbot, St. Edward’s, 28:17.0
15) James-Anderson, Southwestern, 28:23.4
16) Barron-Cobb, Trinity, 29:37.8
17) Recio-Smith, St. Mary’s, 29:54.9
18) Beck-Gilbert, Concordia, 30:26.8
19) Urrego-Burge, Southwestern, 30:41.6
20) Rogers-Sparks, St. Edward’s, 30:53.9
21) Baima-Mercado, St. Edward’s, 31:07.6
22) Mendez-Perez, Texas A&M International, 31:58.6
23) Oakes-Strinzi, St. Edward’s, 32:17.3
24) Bremal-White, St. Mary’s, 32:32.0
25) Emerson-Eastwood, Concordia, 33:19.2
26) Sanchez-Pena, Texas A&M International, 33:29.0
27) Benavides-Schafer, St. Mary’s, 34:26.7

DIFFERENT FORMAT SET FOR WEEKEND -- posted Monday, August 27 2007

Expecting bigger and better things over the course of the season with bigger and better rosters, the Incarnate Word cross country Cardinals host their own UIW Relays this weekend, on Saturday (September 1).

Picked to finish first (women) and fourth (men) in the Heartland Conference, the Cardinals at the Relays will run under a different format.

Visiting schools can enter as many runners as they like, but they must come in two-person relays. Each of the twosomes will run a 5K for the men and two miles for the women. The cumulative times will be used to determine final placings.

The event is set to begin at 8 a.m. at the Live Oak City Park. Participating teams are from Trinity, Southwestern, McMurry, St. Edward’s, St. Mary’s (women only), Texas A&M International and Northwest Vista of San Antonio.

UIW WOMEN PICKED TO WIN -- posted Thursday, August 16 2007

Things have changed in one year’s time for the Incarnate Word women’s cross country team as the 2007 pre-season Heartland Conference poll has put the Cardinals in the top spot.

In August of 2006, UIW was voted to finish fifth in the Heartland championship meet. The Cardinals took that low rating to heart and ran their way to second in the title chase.

Now, one year later, the Cardinals have been named to win the championship set for mid-October in San Antonio. At times over the history of UIW women’s cross country the Cardinals have been factors in the Heartland but this is the first time they have been designated as the favorites.

2007 Heartland Conference Pre-season Poll

1) Incarnate Word
2) Dallas Baptist
3) Newman (Kan)
4) St. Mary’s
5) Lincoln (Mo)
6) Texas A&M International
7) Texas / Permian Basin
8) St. Edward’s
9) Oklahoma Panhandle