TROY, Ala. – WKU junior David Mokone captured the men’s 8K title while sophomore Lindsey Hinken secured runner-up honors for the Lady Toppers in the 5K at the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships to lead WKU to fifth and third-place team finishes, respectively.
Mokone won his first-career Sun Belt Conference Cross Country title with a time of 25:20.4, which was more than 11 seconds faster than the next closest finisher. His top finish earned him the Most Outstanding Performer Award and First-Team All-Sun Belt honors. Including track and field and cross country, Mokone has now won eight individual Sun Belt titles, won four Most Outstanding Performer awards and been named All-Sun Belt Conference 14 times.
Mokone becomes the third Hilltopper runner to claim the men’s 8K title at the Sun Belt Championships in the past four seasons, joining Shadrack Kipchirchir (2010) and Joseph Chebet (2012).
Freshman Peter Agaba finished eighth with a time of 25:56.4 to secure Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors. His clocking was the second fastest run by a rookie at the championships.
The Hilltoppers finished fifth in the team standings with 145 points. UT-Arlington won the team title with 23 points.
For the Lady Toppers it was sophomores Lindsey Hinken and Katie Lever leading the charge, finishing second and fourth, respectively, to lead the Lady Toppers to a third-place team finish.
With their top finishes, Hinken and Lever nabbed First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors and were the only pair of teammates to place Top 5 in the women's 5K race. Hinken crossed the line at 17:47.8 to nab the second All-SBC accolade of her career while Lever clocked a 18:03.3 to garner her first-career league accolade. Hinken also earned All-SBC honors at the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Championships with a seventh-place showing.
With Hinken and Lever earning all-conference honors, the Lady Toppers have now had at least two All-Sun Belt Conference cross country selections for 18-straight seasons.
Despite having two of the top five finishers, the Lady Toppers placed third in the team standings with 68 points, trailing runner-up UT-Arlington (62) and champion Arkansas State (50). The Red Wolves' Kristina Aubert won the women's individual crown with a time of 17:28.2.
Junior Jodi Miller and sophomore Taylor Carlin both posted Top 20 finishes, capturing 17th and 20th-place honors. Sophomore Baylee Shofner rounded out the Lady Toppers scoring with a 25th-place finish.
WKU will have two weeks off before competing in the NCAA Southeast Regional in Charlottesville, Va. On Nov. 15.