April 26, 2008

Chris Norris (Katy, TX/Katy HS) capped his phenomenal senior season with a total of five SCAC Championships at the 2008 SCAC Track & Field Championship meet held in Greencastle, IN on Friday (Apr. 25) and Saturday (Apr. 26) and he was named the 2008 SCAC Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

On Friday, Norris picked up his first win in the long jump. He followed that up on Saturday with individual wins in the 100 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. He ran the 100 in 10.93 and the 200 in 22.42. Norris also ran in the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x400 relay which were both winning teams.

The 4x100 team of Norris, Scott Smith (Houston, TX/Jersey Village HS), Avery Sheppard (Cuero, TX/Cuero HS) and Chase Pipkin (San Antonio, TX/Alamo Heights HS), running without two of the regular runners from the A team, earned the win by 0.2 seconds with a time of 43.01. The 4x400 team consisted of Norris, Smith, Sheppard and Troy Hutchens (Stillwater, OK/Stillwater HS) and won the race with a time of 3:23.78.

Sheppard placed third in the high jump, his first time competing in the event this season, with a height of 1.83 meters, just 0.1 meters lower than the winner. The sophomore also recorded third place finishes in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.32 and the 400 meter dash, finishing in 50.50. Junior Micah Salinas (San Antonio, TX/Highlands HS) set a new Southwestern record in the triple jump with a distance of 13.02 meters to place third. It was just his second time jumping at a meet since high school.

In the 1500 meters, Addison English (Keller, TX/Keller HS) placed 15th with a time of 4:19.92 while Sebastian Winkler (Corpus Christi, TX/Incarnate Word Academy) took 18th with a time of 4:23.66. First-year Allen Smith (Dallas, TX/Shelton School) finished the 5000 meters in 16:27.92 to finish 17th. English and Winkler placed 22nd and 23rd in the 800 meters.

For the women, Kristin Lahaie (Cypress, TX/St. Pius X HS) finished the 800 meters in 2:25.16 to take seventh place. Also in the race were Tami Warner (Dale, TX/Lockhart HS) in 10th with a time of 2:27.77 and Laura Kromann (Austin, TX/Bowie HS) in 13th, crossing the finish line in 2:31.14. Warner ran the 1500 meters in 5:05.91 to place 10th.

The 4x400 relay team of Alana Buenrostro (Brownsville, TX/St. Joseph's Academy), Kromann, Lahaie and Warner posted a time of 4:23.40 to take sixth. Senior Jessica Ratcliffe (Coppell, TX/Coppell HS) placed 16th with a time of 20:15.05 in the 5000 meters.

The men placed fifth in the team standings with 76 points, the highest point total in program history. This marks the second straight year the men have set a new high in points at a SCAC Championship. The women placed ninth with five points.

Norris is the first ever Pirate to earn Athlete of the Year honors in track.