AVE MARIA, Fla. (November 7, 2020) – The Webber International University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 2020 Sun Conference Championships on the morning of Saturday, November 7, at North Park on the campus of Ave Maria University. In the end, senior Kendal Clark earned First-Team All-Sun Conference and secured her second straight trip to the NAIA National Championships after finishing sixth out of 54 runners in the women's 5K with a time of 20:05.3, and junior Sage Lyons was second-team all-conference after taking 11th place with a time of 20:41.0.

In addition to her second straight all-conference recognition after earning second-team all-conference last season, Clark was the lone Warrior this year to earn academic all-conference for cross country. To be eligible for the academic all-conference recognition, the recipient must be at least a sophomore that has completed two semesters at their institution with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

Finishing behind Clark and Lyons in the 5k race on Saturday morning was Saw Ahmara in 27th place with a time of 22:32.7, Aria Green in 41st place with a time of 24:45.4, and Sophia Kenny making her Webber cross country debut by finishing in 49th at 26:40.6.

"The women's team came ready to compete today," spoke Head Coach James Simpson. "Kendal ran another great race and came out ready to fight and secure her spot for nationals. Sage put up a great fight and battled throughout the race as well. Overall, I thought the women's team fought to the end and finished the season on a high note."

Overall, the Warriors finished sixth out of seven TSC schools in the women's 5k race with a team score of 124, but were eighth out of eight teams in the men's 8k race with a score of 188.

On the men's side, freshman Andrew Villicana finished 33rd among 72 runners with a time of 29:52.1, and was the fastest Warrior on the men's side in five out of Webber's six races this season. Next was Travis Holton in 38th with a time of 30:14.1 while Branndon Linares was 44th at 31:26.7, Kevin Bond was 49th at 32:08.5, Leo Campos Jr. was 70th at 35:42.3, and Carter Reynolds was 71st at 35:44.9.

"We also had a great effort on the men's side today," added Simpson. "We were missing our fourth man today, but the men's team came together and gave it their all. We are still a young team, and I can't wait to see what's to come. Altogether, it was a collective effort on both the men's and the women's sides, and I am excited to see what's in store for our athletes in the future."

The 41st Annual NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship is not set to take place until April 9, 2021, at the Seminole Valley Cross County Course on the campus of Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The women's 5k race, in which Clark will participate in for the second year in a row, has a scheduled start time of 12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST.