Janet Jesang’s first-place victory led the Lady Toppers to their fourth straight Sun Belt Conference Championship in Monroe, La. on Saturday.

“Before the first mile, I looked back and saw only (Middle Tennessee State) runners behind me,” Jesang said. “But when I finished, I looked back again and saw one of our girls, and I thought, ‘Oh yes, we are going to win today!’”

The Lady Toppers won with 53 points, followed by Middle Tennessee with 65 points and North Texas, which had 98.

Jesang covered the flooded Louisiana-Monroe’s Selman Field course in

19 minutes, 9 seconds, followed by junior Marion Kandie, who finished in 19:29 for second place.

Five Lady Toppers finished in the top 25.

“There are only six of us running as a team,” Jesang said. “Without one of us, there is no way we could win. We depend on each other.”

After the race, assistant head coach Michelle Scott was honored

as the Sun Belt Coach of the Year.

In the men’s race, senior Patrick Cheptoek finished third in a time of

26:57 over the 8,000 meter course for the Hilltoppers. Junior Mark Bowers

came in 30th at 29:23, while senior Cosmas Bor was 35th with a time of 29:33.

Middle Tennessee won the meet with only 36 points, while the Hilltoppers tied Troy with 161 points for fifth place.

The teams will travel to the NCAA Southeast Regional in Louisville on

Nov. 14 before the NCAA Championship on Nov. 23.