CLINTON, Miss. – The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff won their first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Championship on October 29, as the Lady Lions completely dominated their opposition at Mississippi College's Choctaw Trails cross country course.
In the women's 5,000 meter run, the Lady Lions claimed the top three finishes and four of the top 10 positions in the race for a commanding 44 to 61 advantage over runner-up Grambling State. Last year's champion, Alabama State, finished in fourth preceded by Jackson State in third-place.
“I'm very happy,” an emotional UAPB head cross country coach Curtis Pittman said. “The girls worked hard and we would have been really disappointed if they didn't get what they got today. They've worked their butts off since August 13th.”
UAPB freshman sensation Jackline Chumo (Eldoret, Kenya) easily won the race with a sparkling time of 18:35.95. Chumo was later named both Most Outstanding Performer and Freshman of the Year in the SWAC.
“I really appreciate the work Jackie (Chumo) has done this season,” Pittman, who was named the SWAC Women's Coach of the Year, explained. “She's the one who helped motivate our seniors to be better athletes. She came in and took a leadership role and she's done really well.”
Lady Lion senior Theresa Padilla (San Diego, CA) finished in second (18:59.56), and senior teammate Ashley Bolden (San Diego, CA) claimed third (19:18.29). Sophomore Esther Adeyemi (Philadelphia, PA) grabbed a top 10 finish, coming in ninth-place finish with a time of 20:27.22.
Junior Marion Booth (Gainesville, TX), who is suffering from a stomach ulcer and was a last minute decision to run, turned in a surprising 29th finish (21:41.79). Junior Tisha Hinds (Atlanta, GA) clocked in with a time of 22:20.92, which was good enough for 34th place and freshman Valicia Liddell (Pine Bluff, AR) finished in 59th (25:52.84).
“This was probably one of the loudest statements that we could possibly make concerning our commitment to athletics at UAPB,” Athletic Director Louis “Skip” Perkins said. “This also shows that we're not just concerned with football and basketball. We're concerned with being a total athletic program.”
By way of their top five finishes, Chumo, Padilla and Bolden were named First-Team All-SWAC performers and Adeyemi was a Second-Team All-SWAC member.
“I'm so happy and grateful I won the race,” Chumo said. “We trained so very hard everyday. Everybody worked very hard. This makes me really happy.”
Jemu Zarzar of Jackson State finished in fourth-place with a time of 19:24.94 and Southern University's Precious Collins rounded out the top five with a time of 19:42.67.
The win was the first SWAC Championship of any kind for the Golden Lions since UAPB rejoined the conference in 1997. UAPB was previously a member of the SWAC from 1944-'69.
