NEW ORLEANS – Following an impressive performance that led to the Aggie men placing second in the SEC Championships, Texas A&M received votes this week in the national top 30 rankings while they remained No. 3 in the South Central region rankings.
"We ran pretty well at the SEC meet and I think that gives us some momentum heading into the regional meet," said Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "I think our guys keep running better and better. Ideally the rankings are a reflection of where we stack up based on the minds of people around the country. Hopefully we continue to just run better and then after the region meet there will be no doubt that we belong in the top 30 in the country."
Arkansas remained No. 8 in the national rankings and they are the lone SEC team to earn a place among the top 30. The Razorbacks are also the top team from the South Central region while the Aggies and Texas were among teams receiving votes this week.
The Aggies defeated some of the top ranked teams in the South Region – No. 2 Mississippi, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Florida – during the SEC Championships. A&M also bettered No. 2 Penn and No. 4 Navy from the Mid-Atlantic region in the Notre Dame Invitational.
"It has helped us in defeating teams out of the South region and the Mid-Atlantic, since those are a couple of regions that should have multiple schools battling to make the NCAA field," noted McRaven. "In reality our sport is about showing up on the day that matters and performing."
Texas A&M will host the South Central regional meet Friday, Nov. 13, on the Dale Watts course with the women racing over 6,000 meters at 10 a.m. while the men follow at 11 a.m. with a 10,000-meter race.
The top two teams among the nine region meets contested will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships along with the top four individual finishers not associated with a team advancing. Another 13 teams will be added via at-large selections to complete the field of 31. The last time an Aggie men's squad qualified for the NCAA Championship field was in 2011 and A&M placed 18th in the national meet.
"Coming into the conference meet I told our team that the SEC meet is step one and the regional meet will be step two," said McRaven. "It's been nice to see the maturation among the men's team. It's a group that went through some tough times. It was a team that finished eighth in the SEC a year ago and came into this season without our No. 1 and No. 2 from last year and they were SEC and national level runners.
"Yet, now we are significantly better a year later and that's because of the work they've been willing to put in, them trusting in the process and knowing development in cross country is not an overnight thing. Sometimes it takes years. They're better because they've put in consistent work over not just days, not weeks, not months, but years. That's why there in the position they're in now."
The maturation was evident among the Aggies when comparing their respective finish in the recent SEC meet to last year's performance. Cameron Villarreal lead the A&M crew by placing eighth, which was an improvement from finishing 44th last year. Other improvements included Austin Wells, 14th from 46th, Christian Farris, 23rd from 57th, Ryan Teel, 41st from 53rd, and Elliot Farris, 59th from 95th. In addition Alex Riba, who missed the 2014 SEC meet as he continued his recovery from an injury, placed 13th this season.
NCAA South Central Region Rankings
Men
1. Arkansas
2. Texas
3. Texas A&M
4. Lamar
5. SFA
6. North Texas
7. UT Arlington
8. Rice
9. Houston
10. McNeese State
11. Baylor
12. UTSA
13. LSU
14. Central Arkansas
15. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Women
1. Arkansas
2. SMU
3. Rice
4. Texas
5. SFA
6. Baylor
7. Texas A&M
8. Lamar
9. North Texas
10. Houston
11. UT Arlington
12. UTSA
13. Arkansas State
14. Incarnate Word
15. TCU
"We ran pretty well at the SEC meet and I think that gives us some momentum heading into the regional meet," said Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "I think our guys keep running better and better. Ideally the rankings are a reflection of where we stack up based on the minds of people around the country. Hopefully we continue to just run better and then after the region meet there will be no doubt that we belong in the top 30 in the country."
Arkansas remained No. 8 in the national rankings and they are the lone SEC team to earn a place among the top 30. The Razorbacks are also the top team from the South Central region while the Aggies and Texas were among teams receiving votes this week.
The Aggies defeated some of the top ranked teams in the South Region – No. 2 Mississippi, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Florida – during the SEC Championships. A&M also bettered No. 2 Penn and No. 4 Navy from the Mid-Atlantic region in the Notre Dame Invitational.
"It has helped us in defeating teams out of the South region and the Mid-Atlantic, since those are a couple of regions that should have multiple schools battling to make the NCAA field," noted McRaven. "In reality our sport is about showing up on the day that matters and performing."
Texas A&M will host the South Central regional meet Friday, Nov. 13, on the Dale Watts course with the women racing over 6,000 meters at 10 a.m. while the men follow at 11 a.m. with a 10,000-meter race.
The top two teams among the nine region meets contested will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships along with the top four individual finishers not associated with a team advancing. Another 13 teams will be added via at-large selections to complete the field of 31. The last time an Aggie men's squad qualified for the NCAA Championship field was in 2011 and A&M placed 18th in the national meet.
"Coming into the conference meet I told our team that the SEC meet is step one and the regional meet will be step two," said McRaven. "It's been nice to see the maturation among the men's team. It's a group that went through some tough times. It was a team that finished eighth in the SEC a year ago and came into this season without our No. 1 and No. 2 from last year and they were SEC and national level runners.
"Yet, now we are significantly better a year later and that's because of the work they've been willing to put in, them trusting in the process and knowing development in cross country is not an overnight thing. Sometimes it takes years. They're better because they've put in consistent work over not just days, not weeks, not months, but years. That's why there in the position they're in now."
The maturation was evident among the Aggies when comparing their respective finish in the recent SEC meet to last year's performance. Cameron Villarreal lead the A&M crew by placing eighth, which was an improvement from finishing 44th last year. Other improvements included Austin Wells, 14th from 46th, Christian Farris, 23rd from 57th, Ryan Teel, 41st from 53rd, and Elliot Farris, 59th from 95th. In addition Alex Riba, who missed the 2014 SEC meet as he continued his recovery from an injury, placed 13th this season.
NCAA South Central Region Rankings
Men
1. Arkansas
2. Texas
3. Texas A&M
4. Lamar
5. SFA
6. North Texas
7. UT Arlington
8. Rice
9. Houston
10. McNeese State
11. Baylor
12. UTSA
13. LSU
14. Central Arkansas
15. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Women
1. Arkansas
2. SMU
3. Rice
4. Texas
5. SFA
6. Baylor
7. Texas A&M
8. Lamar
9. North Texas
10. Houston
11. UT Arlington
12. UTSA
13. Arkansas State
14. Incarnate Word
15. TCU