PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Prairie View A&M men's cross country team had a good chance of becoming the top contender of the 2017 Southwestern Athletic Conference Champions.
A small but vital opportunity got away from the Panthers as they placed second in the SWAC championship to end their successful cross country season.
PVAMU opened up the 2017 competition at Rice, where they concluded the meet with a sixth place finish. Out of 75 participant's sophomore Levante Williams (21:02) finished in the middle of the pack, while senior
Aaron Austin finished just seconds behind his teammate (21:05). In his debut as a Panther Tracy Marley (22:31) had an impressive evening finishing fifth on the team.
The team continued their journey to success as they ran at the Texas Invitational, placing fifth in the 6k race. Everybody ran season-best times, as the duo of Austin and Williams were the top finishers on the team. Austin posted a time 20:36.03, while Williams marked a time of 21:09.80. Sophomore
Francisco Hernandez crossed the finish line at 21:26.95, senior
Syed Hussain completed his time at 21:34.06), junior
Gabriel Price (21:37.84) and Malrey (21:41.26) all finished behind each other.
Running a hard paced competition prior to the 2017 SWAC Championship Williams led the charge for the Panthers with a time of 25.42, while Austin paced a time of 26.52, which was a season best in the 8k run. Hernandez was the third leg to cross the line at a time of 27:20 marking a career and season best, while Malrey (27:27), and Price (27:33) topped the top five coming in one after the other.
As the season began to close out the Panthers competed at the Aggieland Open hosted by Texas A&M running a 5k using this meet as a speed endurance workout, finishing in 5
th place out of a field of eight.
Williams finished with a time of 16:13, crossing the finish line first for the Panthers placing 18
th and marking a season and career best in the 3.1mile race. Austin again came in right behind him finishing 25
th with a time of 16:25. Hernandez was the third member of the Panthers team to cross the line with a time of 16:33.5. Price ran 17:04, while Malrey marked a time of 17:16.1 and senior
Darwin Allen was the sixth man to cross the line for the Panthers with a time of 17:31.9. This was a season and career best for all the members of the team.
In the Panthers last regular season meet prior to the SWAC Championship, the team competed in the (HBU) Houston Baptist University Cross Country Invite, at the Sugarland Memory Park.
Austin placed 15
th in a field of six teams and 50 participants scoring the first points for PVAMU with a time of 27:50 in the five mile run. This was the final cross country meet for the senior. Hernandez was the second Panther to score with a time of 28:56, as he was followed by Malrey with a time 28:50. Price finished with a time of 29:02, the final finisher was sophomore
Luiz Yanez, who finished with a time of 29:34.
On a cold and windy competition day of the 2017 SWAC Cross Country Championship meet at Choctaw Trails. Prairie View A&M tied with Jackson State for first place with each team having 41 points apiece, but the Tigers won the tiebreaker to edge past the Panthers.
PVAMU men's team had three members on the All-SWAC team, including two on the first team. The first runner to cross the line for the Panthers for the second straight year was Williams, who placed second in the pack running a time of 26:05.45 to receive first team All-SWAC honors. Austin crossed the finish line fourth overall with a time of 26:53.55 to also earn first team All-SWAC honors.
Hernandez earned second team All-SWAC honors after placing in sixth place with a time of 27:01.02. The other top finishers for PVAMU were sophomore
Harold Rodriguez-Pavon with a time of 28:07.49 in finishing 14
th, one spot ahead of teammate and Hussain who posted a time of 28:15.89.
Men's Cross Country – Finished 2nd
Levante Williams – SWAC Runner of the Week (9/26/17), First Team All-SWAC
Aaron Austin - First Team All-SWAC
Francisco Hernandez- First Team All-SWAC
