HOUSTON – Texas A&M's Ryan Teel claimed the men's individual title during the Houston Baptist Invitational on Friday evening as the Aggies defended their team title on the St. Agnes Athletics Field. Teel covered the 6,600-meter course in a time of 20 minutes, 19 seconds.
Producing 35 points gave A&M a 10-point cushion over the host Huskies (45) while Prairie View A&M (59) and Texas Southern (85) rounded out the men's team scoring.
Teel bettered the field by 11 seconds in earning the victory. Juan Uribe, an Aggie runner competing unattached, placed second in 20:30. Finishing third and fourth in the race as the second and third A&M runners were Christian Farris (20:31) and Colin Stoeber (20:40).
“The nice thing about the men's race is that the first four finishers were A&M athletes,” noted Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. “Part of the reason we come to a meet like this is for positive experiences.
“Ryan did very well in winning the meet and had a positive experience with his race. Uribe also ran a great race competing unattached. Christian made his presence known while Colin was with the leaders in the early stages of the race, fell back, and then came back with a strong finish.”
Completing the men's team score as the fourth and fifth Aggie finishers were Aaron Murray, who placed 14th (21:21), and Brett Schmitt, who was 25th (22:05). They were 11th and 18th in adjusted team scoring. The Aggie men's team also included Julian Castellano (31st, 22:35) and Bobby Zeller (32nd, 22:38).
In the women's race the Aggies repeated their runner-up finish from last season with 35 points, placing behind Baylor's 29. Houston Baptist (69) finished third ahead of Prairie View A&M (120) and Texas Southern (136).
Haley Deakins led the A&M women over the 5,500-meter course, placing fifth with a time of 20:28. Running in tandem with Deakins was teammate Katie Pia, who clocked 20:29 for sixth place.
“Haley is a talented young lady and she is going to get there eventually as she continues to work hard,” said McRaven. “Katie did a really nice job as well. We keep making progress with the group as we figure out who our number four and five runners are going to be.”
A crew of Aggies occupied places eighth through 12th with Johanna Galloway (20:34), Melanie Enriquez (20:42), Laura Craig (20:44), Ashley Chamberlain (20:45) and Rachel Williams (20:51).
Also competing for the A&M women were Lauren Fontana (16th, 21:09), Shelby McNeel (20th, 21:21), Devin Norton (22nd, 21:24), Kelsey Persyn (28th, 21:44), and Emily Willingham (30th, 22:14).
HOUSTON BAPTIST INVITATIONAL RESULTS
Men's Team: 1. Texas A&M, 35; 2. Houston Baptist, 45; 3. Prairie View A&M, 59; 4. Texas Southern, 85.
Individuals (6.6k): 1. Ryan Teel, A&M, 20:19; 2. Juan Uribe, unat, 20:30; 3. Christian Farris, A&M, 20:31; 4. Colin Stoeber, A&M, 20:40; 5. Javier Zamora, HBU, 20:47; 6. Sorone Batiste, PVA&M, 20:50; 7. Jeremy Lewis, HBU, 20:52; 8. Jarrod Ballou, PVA&M, 20:53; 9. Isaac Romero, TSU, 21:04; 10. Oscar Garcia, HBU, 21:07; 11. Zach Martin, unat, 21:11; 12. Jeffrey Moore, unat, 21:15.
Women's Team: 1. Baylor, 29; 2. Texas A&M, 35; 3. Houston Baptist, 69; 4. Prairie View A&M, 120; 5. Texas Southern, 136.
Individuals (5.5k): 1. Peyton Thomas, Baylor, 19:21; 2. Gabriela Busquet, HBU, 20:08; 3. Erika Overbeck, Baylor, 20:16; 4. Courtney Cox, Baylor, 20:27; 5. Haley Deakins, A&M, 20:28; 6. Katie Pia, A&M, 20:29; 7. Gretta Smith, Baylor, 20:33; 8. Johanna Galloway, A&M, 20:34; 9. Melanie Enriquez, A&M, 20:42; 10. Laura Craig, A&M, 20:44; 11. Ashley Chamberlain, A&M, 20:45; 12. Rachel Williams, A&M, 20:51.