Texas A&M
NCAA South Central Region
Hillary Montgomery, Grace Fletcher advance to NCAA Championships
Nov 14, 2014 | Cross Country
FAYETTEVILLE – Texas A&M seniors Hillary Montgomery and Grace Fletcher qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships based on their finish during the South Central Region meet held at Arkansas' Agri Park complex on Friday.
Montgomery finished eighth in the 6,000-meter race with a time of 20 minutes, 17.2 seconds while Fletcher placed ninth in 20:19.6. It's the 10th consecutive year for A&M to qualify at least one individual to the national meet. Montgomery also qualified individually a year ago while Fletcher advances to her first national championship.
Finishing 10th was another Aggie, Karis Jochen in 20:31.4, who may qualify for the NCAA field once at-large selections are made this weekend. The national meet will be held Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Indiana.
“They did a great job and did exactly what we talked about in putting themselves in a good position to compete well with that front pack,” said Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. “Going to nationals is a great feeling. Karis ran a really good race and she's a little disappointed since she doesn't have the automatic bid. Hopefully she can get in with the at-large bid.
“To have three women in the top 10 is really a fantastic performance. They've raced well all year long and trained really well together.”
The top four finishers in the race not part of the top two finishing teams earn the automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships. Montgomery and Fletcher were the third and fourth individual qualifiers behind SMU's Agnes Sjostrom (20:11.0) and Cali Roper of Rice (20:14.0).
”We are both really excited and it's a huge honor to compete at this level,” noted Montgomery. “To qualify individually for nationals is a huge accomplishment. Both of us, as well as Karis, have been working so hard this season. It feels good to know that it all came together today.
“We're always together during workouts, so it was great to race that way today. We had that element of running as one today. I think we each make each other stronger and that helped during the race.”
Fletcher added: “It's exciting and we hope Karis can join as well when they announce the at-large selections. Both of them have been helping me so much and make me so much stronger than I would be if I wasn't training with them. Hillary and I are normally roommates when we travel, so this is good since it will keep up the routine.”
Arkansas (29 points) and Baylor (82) secured the two team auto qualifications for the national championship meet. Texas A&M scored 176 points to place sixth behind SMU (113), Lamar (140) and Rice (147). The top 10 teams also included Texas (190) in seventh followed by North Texas (217), SFA (224) and Arkansas State (249).
Haley Deakins was the fourth finisher for the Aggies as she placed 77th with a time of 22:27.9 and Katie Pia completed A&M's scoring five as she finished 88th in 22:47.6. Also racing for the Aggies were Ashley Chamberlain (103rd – 23:12.5) and Laura Craig (109th – 23:21.1).
“It bodes well for the future of our program that we can develop young ladies to that level,” said McRaven. “Hillary and Grace have improved dramatically in the four years they have been here.
“Even for Karis, she is disappointed since she has high expectations for herself, but her race was significantly better than a year ago. The people who beat her last year in this meet she was able to beat handily a year later, which is awesome to see.”
In the men's race the Aggies placed seventh with 177 points. Arkansas won the team title with 42 points over Texas, who scored 51. Lamar (106) finished third ahead of North Texas (134), SFA (164) and Texas-Arlington (166). Rounding out the top 10 behind A&M were McNeese (298), Central Arkansas (300) and Rice (310).
Ryan Miller led the Aggies for the second consecutive meet, placing 26th on the 10,000-meter course with a time of 30:27.1 as teammates Isaac Spencer (30:27.5) and Austin Wells (30:28.3) finished 27th and 28th.
Christian Farris (31:10.5) was the fourth A&M runner as he placed 46th and Cameron Villarreal (31:14.0) rounded out the scoring five in placing 50th. The sixth and seventh Aggie runners were Austin Geerts (57th – 31:23.1) and Ryan Teel (60th – 31:31.6).
“We're disappointed with our men's finish,” stated McRaven. “We're better than that and we need to grow from this. There are some things we need to change overall and there are some things individuals need to change.
“There is nice progression from some individuals. It's nice to the growth Ryan Miller has had over his four years. But we need to keep getting better. Our expectations are certainly higher than seventh place.”
NCAA South Central Region - Fayetteville, Arkansas
Men's Teams: 1. Arkansas, 42; 2. Texas, 51; 3. Lamar, 106; 4. North Texas, 134; 5. SFA, 164; 6. Texas-Arlington, 166; 7. Texas A&M, 177; 8. McNeese State, 298; 9. Central Arkansas, 300; 10. Rice, 310; 11. Houston, 312; 12. Baylor, 360; 13. Texas A&M-CC, 376; 14. Tulane, 389; 15. UL-Lafayette, 402; 16. Arkansas-Little Rock, 406; 17. Sam Houston State, 430; 18. LSU, 471; 19. Arkansas State, 495; 20. UTSA, 519; 21. Houston Baptist, 537; 22. Texas-Pan American, 591; 23. Prairie View A&M, 712.
A&M Runners: 26. Ryan Miller, 30:27.1; 27. Isaac Spencer, 30:27.5; 28. Austin Wells, 30:28.3; 46. Christian Farris, 31:10.5; 50. Cameron Villarreal, 31:14.0; 57. Austin Geerts, 31:23.1; 60. Ryan Teel, 31:31.6;
Women's Teams: 1. Arkansas, 29; 2. Baylor, 82; 3. SMU, 113; 4. Lamar, 140; 5. Rice, 147; 6. Texas A&M, 176; 7. Texas, 190; 8. North Texas, 217; 9. SFA, 224; 10. Arkansas State, 249; 11. Texas-Arlington, 245; 12. LSU, 330; 13. McNeese State, 347; 14. UTSA, 380; 15. Sam Houston State, 414; 16. Tulane, 421; 17. Houston, 476; 18. Houston Baptist, 510; 19. Texas A&M-CC, 518; 20. Texas-Pan American, 555.
A&M Runners: 8. Hillary Montgomery, 20:17.2; 9. Grace Fletcher, 20:19.6; 10. Karis Jochen, 20:31.4; 77. Haley Deakins, 22:27.9; 88. Katie Pia, 22:47.6; 103. Ashley Chamberlain, 23:12.5; 109. Laura Craig, 23:21.1.
Players Mentioned
