Friday, November 10
Gainesville, Fla.
7:30 a.m.
Jacksonville State University
vs
NCAA South Region
Lowe, Jimeno Lead Gamecocks at NCAA South Regional
11/10/2023 11:42:00 AM | Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As has been the trend all season, the Jax State men's and women's cross country teams continued to set new standards Friday morning at the 2023 NCAA South Regional championship to cement this season as one of the best in the program's history.
The turnaround efforts by first-year head coach Jeremy Provence have shown throughout the fall, and led to the Gamecocks scoring as a team in both the men's and women's regional competition.
Friday's action started with the women's 6K championship, where Jax State junior Bethelhem Manzano Jimeno took advantage of shorter course set the program's postseason 6K record with a time of 20:45.4 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. Her time topped the Gamecocks' previous regional standard of 21:21.4 set by Giselle Slotboom in 2013.
Behind Manzano, sophomore Lindsay Fletcher capped a strong season that saw her consistently place in JSU's 1-to-2 spot. Senior Sierra Wainer placed third for Jax State with a new 6K PR of 23:50 in her third NCAA Regional appearance. Sophomore Anna Strickland and senior Juliana Ballew rounded out the Gamecock lineup, bringing Jax State home in 28th as a unit, just ahead of former conference foe Austin Peay.
"The women competed well," said Provence. "It may not have been our best day overall, but they ran with the same toughness they have all year which gave us a chance to beat a few in-state programs that have historically been ahead of us."
It was the first time Jax State scored as a team with five runners at regional competition since 2014 for the women, and became the best team finish since the ladies finished 25th in 2013.
In the men's 10K championship, sophomore Jack Lowe paced the Gamecocks once again turning in a time of 31:49.3. The new PR for the Pell City, Ala., product, was the second-fastest NCAA Regional 10K time in program history behind David Nilsson's 31:30.7 from 2009.
Lowe was far from the only Gamecock to set a new standard on Friday as all seven of Jax State's runners clocked new 10K PR times. The team's combined scoring averaged time of 32:59 was better than Lowe's individual leading time a season ago.
"I thought we started out a little too conservative, and in a competitive race like the regionals it's hard to make up ground, but they competed hard and moved up the entire race so I'm really happy with that."
"Definitely a season with a lot of positives. We can build off this, we have the majority of the team returning and we're adding some good pieces next year."
Place Time Split
Jack Lowe [SO] 96 31:49.3
Rodrigo Fraga Odriozola [JR] 123 32:52.1 3:16.2
Tanner Rice [SO] 129 32:58.6 3:22.0
Steele Joiner [SO] 131 33:01.9 3:32.6
Mason McMahon [JR] 155 34:14.0 3:35.7
Kaden Harris [SO] 158 34:28.1 3:35.9
J.R. Proctor [JR] 171 37:15.4 4:05.6
Place Time Split
Bethelhem Manzano Jimeno [JR] 86 20:45.4 4:08.3
Lindsay Fletcher [SO] 170 22:12.5 4:31.6
Sierra Wainer [SR] 202 23:50.2 4:57.1
Anna Strickland [SO] 203 23:56.5 5:12.7
Juliana Ballew [SR] 210 24:54.4 5:25.8
The turnaround efforts by first-year head coach Jeremy Provence have shown throughout the fall, and led to the Gamecocks scoring as a team in both the men's and women's regional competition.
Friday's action started with the women's 6K championship, where Jax State junior Bethelhem Manzano Jimeno took advantage of shorter course set the program's postseason 6K record with a time of 20:45.4 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. Her time topped the Gamecocks' previous regional standard of 21:21.4 set by Giselle Slotboom in 2013.
Behind Manzano, sophomore Lindsay Fletcher capped a strong season that saw her consistently place in JSU's 1-to-2 spot. Senior Sierra Wainer placed third for Jax State with a new 6K PR of 23:50 in her third NCAA Regional appearance. Sophomore Anna Strickland and senior Juliana Ballew rounded out the Gamecock lineup, bringing Jax State home in 28th as a unit, just ahead of former conference foe Austin Peay.
"The women competed well," said Provence. "It may not have been our best day overall, but they ran with the same toughness they have all year which gave us a chance to beat a few in-state programs that have historically been ahead of us."
It was the first time Jax State scored as a team with five runners at regional competition since 2014 for the women, and became the best team finish since the ladies finished 25th in 2013.
In the men's 10K championship, sophomore Jack Lowe paced the Gamecocks once again turning in a time of 31:49.3. The new PR for the Pell City, Ala., product, was the second-fastest NCAA Regional 10K time in program history behind David Nilsson's 31:30.7 from 2009.
Lowe was far from the only Gamecock to set a new standard on Friday as all seven of Jax State's runners clocked new 10K PR times. The team's combined scoring averaged time of 32:59 was better than Lowe's individual leading time a season ago.
"I thought we started out a little too conservative, and in a competitive race like the regionals it's hard to make up ground, but they competed hard and moved up the entire race so I'm really happy with that."
"Definitely a season with a lot of positives. We can build off this, we have the majority of the team returning and we're adding some good pieces next year."
Place Time Split
Jack Lowe [SO] 96 31:49.3
Rodrigo Fraga Odriozola [JR] 123 32:52.1 3:16.2
Tanner Rice [SO] 129 32:58.6 3:22.0
Steele Joiner [SO] 131 33:01.9 3:32.6
Mason McMahon [JR] 155 34:14.0 3:35.7
Kaden Harris [SO] 158 34:28.1 3:35.9
J.R. Proctor [JR] 171 37:15.4 4:05.6
Place Time Split
Bethelhem Manzano Jimeno [JR] 86 20:45.4 4:08.3
Lindsay Fletcher [SO] 170 22:12.5 4:31.6
Sierra Wainer [SR] 202 23:50.2 4:57.1
Anna Strickland [SO] 203 23:56.5 5:12.7
Juliana Ballew [SR] 210 24:54.4 5:25.8
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
Jax State Softball at Florida State
Sunday, May 17
Jax State Softball vs. UCF
Saturday, May 16
Jax State Baseball Highlights vs Auburn - May 12th, 2026
Wednesday, May 13
Jax State Baseball Highlights vs Kennesaw State Game 2 - May 9th, 2026
Sunday, May 10
