The University of Texas at Dallas men’s cross country team collected its third consecutive American Southwest Conference (ASC) championship on March 3, easily besting seven other teams in the race at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, Texas.
UT Dallas, led by Trent Sakakini, placed four runners in the top 10 to finish 21 points ahead of runner-up LeTourneau University.
Sakakini placed second in the 8-kilometer race with a time of 26:23.7. Graeme Maclean was fifth, and Griffin Davis finished seventh, giving the Comets three first-team All-ASC selections for the first time in program history. Maclean also was named the ASC’s Freshman of the Year. Andres Uriegas placed 10th and earned a spot on the All-ASC’s second team. Jack Newton was recognized as the ASC’s Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year.
Comet Sports
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The Comets’ team coaches — head coach Danielle Kcholi and volunteer assistants Brandon Vaughn and Mohammad Nourani BS’16, MS’19 — were named the ASC Coaching Staff of the Year.
Other team members who competed were Devan Bailey, John Joseph, Christian Kondor, Justin Ardis and Joel Guzman.
Additionally, the women’s cross country team placed second at its ASC championship meet. Maddie Ellis was the Comets’ top finisher, placing fourth. Ellis and Hannah Bennett, who finished seventh, each earned first-team All-ASC honors, and Anna Schaeffer made the All-ASC second team. Rachel Kahler received the ASC’s Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year award.
Basketball Teams Start Postseason Play
The UT Dallas women’s basketball team, ranked No. 8 in the country by D3hoops.com, opened its ASC championship tournament on Wednesday with a 62-55 quarterfinal win over LeTourneau at the Activity Center.
The Comets (14-3, 9-2 ASC), who have won six straight games, will play the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in the semifinals on Sunday at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.
The men’s basketball team (9-5, 7-4 ASC), which clinched its 18th straight postseason berth with a 87-79 win over Hardin-Simmons on Saturday, lost to Louisiana College 79-72 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of its ASC tournament.