SAN MARCOS, Texas- Kwanele Mthembu and Justin Botello recorded top 10 finishes to lead the Texas State men's cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the 2021  Sun Belt Conference Championships on Friday at Brookley by the Bay in Mobile, Ala.
 
Mthembu earned First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors after finishing in third place with a time of 24:25.2  in the men's eight-kilometer race.
 
Botello finished ninth in 24:59.0 to earn Second-Team All-Sun Belt honors for the second time in three years. He also was a Second-Team All-Conference runner in 2019 and earned Third-Team accolades in 2020.
 
Texas State men's finished in fourth place in the team standings with 101 points. It is the team's  best finish in four years. Previous best finishes were third place in 2016 and 2017 before placing fifth in each of the last three years.
 
 Arkansas State won the men's team championship with 32 points after having four runners place among the top 10 finishers. Appalachian State finished second with 58 points, while the host school, South Alabama, took  third with 69 points.
 
South Alabama's Kirami Yego is the 2021 individual champion after completing his home course in a time of 23:51.3. Arkansas State's Lexington Hilton was second in 24;01.0, while Mthembu was third in 24:25.2. Two Red Wolves rounded out the top five as Bennett Pascoe finished the race in 24:50.8 and Seth Waters finished in 24:53.9.
 
Onesmus Keboi of South Alabama finished in sixth place with a time of 24:53.9, while App State's Oliver Wilson-Cook finished seventh in 24:54.1. Coleman Wilson of Arkansas State had the eighth-fastest time with 24:59.9, while Botello was in ninth place with a time of 24:59.0, finishing ahead of Ryan Brown of App State, who had a time of 25.03.0.
 
A.J. Tyler had a time of 26:18.7 to finish in 28th place. He completed the course one spot ahead of teammate Travian Holst, who had a time of 26:21.9.  Pedro Osorio Lopez had a time of 26:36.1 to finish in 32nd place. Jackson Burnett tied for 33rd place with UTA's Tyler Rodriguez in 26:37.5. Dylan Pitts rounded out the Bobcat runners with a time of 27:55.1, placing him 51st.
 
Texas State finished ninth among 12 teams in the women's five-kilometer race with 233 points. Freshman Megan Ombres led the Bobcats when she finished in 28th place with a time of 18:55.0. Jessica Meyers finished 40th with a time of 19:22.5. Aubrey Schmidt placed 47th with a time of 19:40.3, while Michelle Wisniewski had a time of 20:25.1 to finish in 58th place, while her older sister, Daniela, finished 60th in 20:32.0.
 
Olivia Johnson placed 72nd with a time of 21:36.9, and Angie Lujan Marrufo had a time of 23.39.9 to finish in 76th place.
 
Arkansas State was the women's champion with 45 points, while App State finished second with 73 points and UT Arlington was third with 77 points.