This is a look back at the 2012 ASU Cross Country season.

Alabama State entered the 2012 season with two of the youngest teams in the history of the ASU program as only one senior dotted the roster on both the men's and women's team. Compare that to four freshmen on each team and a total of 13 underclassmen.

Even with the youth, it did not damper an outstanding season for both teams as the women won their second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title and the men improved on their 2011 finish with a fifth place finish in 2012.

The Lady Hornets had five top-five finishes among their seven meets, including first place finishes to end the season at the Coach "O" Classic and the SWAC Championship.

ASU finished each meet among the top eight teams and were able to do that despite running different distances which included a 2 mile run, a 4k, a 6k and four 5K's.

By winning the SWAC Championship, which was their third in the past five years, the Lady Hornets picked up the automatic berth in the NCAA South Region Championship. They finished 25^th in the field which included nationally ranked teams from Georgia State, Jacksonville, Florida State and Alabama-Birmingham.

The men also participated in seven meets during the season with second place finishes at the Jacksonville State (JSU) Strut's Season Opener and the Coach "O" Classic.

The Hornets finished among the top eight teams in six of the seven meets, including the highly competitive Auburn Invitational where they finished eighth.

The men's fifth place finish at the SWAC Championship completed the season which saw them perform better each week. The 2012 SWAC finish was two places better than in 2011 when they finished seventh.

Freshmen Paige Rankin led the women's team, being the first Lady Hornet to cross the finish line in six of the seven events. She picked up first place finishes in JSU's Strut's Season Opener and the Gulf Coast Stampede. She also picked up two second place finishes in the Foothills Invitational and the Coach "O" Classic.

Another freshman, Artrailia LeSane also had a solid first year on campus. She had four top five finishes including her third place finish at the SWAC Championships.

Freshman Brandon Coombs had two top-10 finishes for the men. His top finish was fifth at the Coach "O" Classic and he finished seventh at the JSU Strut's Season Opener.

Paige Rankin picked up three SWAC Runner of the Week honors and LeSane added one. LeSane and Kim Wedderburn picked up First Team All-SWAC honors and Rankin received Second Team honors.

Brandon Coombs was also named the SWAC Runner of the Week on three separate occasions and Cory Nwaiji picked up the honor once during the season.

Head Coach Ritchie Beene was once again named the SWAC Women's Coach of the Year.