COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M will start its cross country season with a home meet held on the Dale Watts course next Friday, September 1, as the Aggies host seven schools in the Aggie Opener.
The meet will include Texas, Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, UTSA, Incarnate Word, UT Rio Grande Valley, and Texas Southern. Starting at 6:45 p.m., the women cover a distance of 4,100m and the men will race over a 6,000m course at 7:15 p.m.
"It's a little deeper field to open the season," noted Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "It gives us a chance for this meet to be a little more of a test to see where we are at. In the past, with just three teams, sometimes it didn't give you a feel of a cross country race. With eight teams, we'll see enough bodies on the course and get a feel of what competing is like.
"It's still a rust-buster and a meet that is a dress rehearsal for us. I always feel like we've kind of gone to an era where people compete less. If you're doing it the right way, and keeping everything in its proper perspective, there's nothing better than competing. There's no workout you can do that is more race specific than an actual race itself. Why not get a couple of early season races under your belt to kind of get the wheels turning."
Texas A&M returns four seniors, two for the men and a pair on the women's side. They include Christian Farris and Alex Riba along with Devin Norton and Kelsey Persyn. Seven freshman join the men's squad this season while the women's crew will have nine new additions.
"On the men's side we have a great foundation when you start out with Alex Riba and Christian Farris, two guys who have been all-region and been in the top 20 among the SEC," said McRaven. "So, it's a good starting point. As those guys continue to progress and stay healthy, they should be thinking about being top 10 in the conference. Both Kelsey Persyn and Devin Norton have shown tremendous growth at athletes and students of the sport. I think they have the chance to make big gains this year.
"Others have stepped up, such as Jon Bishop, who was one of the top freshman in the SEC last season as well as the region. Brandt Preston was the Southland Conference freshman of the year and right behind Bishop in the region meet. Jacob Perry and Taylor Clayton both did well during the track season."
A pair of local talents will be among the leading returning athletes for the Aggies during this cross country season. Jon Bishop and Kelsie Warren, who both competed at College Station High School, each had successful freshman campaigns last year.
Another prominent local talent, Karis Jochen, has completed her cross country eligibility, but returns for a senior campaign during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.
"Our first goal in recruiting, in any event area, is to keep the best Texas kids at home," said McRaven. "That's even more so when you have talented athletes in your own backyard. We've had some pretty good luck recently of getting some of the better College Station kids, either from A&M Consolidated or College Station high school, to stay at Texas A&M.
"With Karis coming here and having success, that opened the door for Kelsie, who was a youngster looking up to Karis, and Bishop kind of saw the same thing as others came here, had some success and a positive experience."
Competing in the SEC Championships last fall, Bishop finished as the second freshman overall in the race as he placed third among the Aggie scoring five while Warren finished as the second Texas A&M runner in the conference meet. In the NCAA South Central meet, Bishop was third among the Aggie crew and 34th overall amid a field of 142.
"I was really pleased with how Kelsie Warren battled through some injury issues during track season last year and started figuring some things out," noted McRaven. "By the end of the track season she was running really well and just missed scoring in the SEC. She has the potential to be a really good cross country runner for us. She can provide some good upfront leadership."
Joining Warren from last year's crew of freshmen who made contributions during the season were Ashley Driscoll, Ashton Hutcherson and Lauryn Barrientos.
"Ashton Hutcherson had a nice breakthrough on the track to score in the SEC steeplechase and that opened her eyes a bit on the potential of how good she can be," said McRaven. "Last year's group of freshman are starting to figure things out and look like they can potentially be contributors on this level."
The 2017 schedule includes three home meets for the Aggies during the regular season, and Texas A&M serves as host of the NCAA South Central region meet during the postseason. The Aggies travel to Athens, Georgia, twice as they preview the conference course on September 9 and then return for the SEC Championships on October 27.
2017 Texas A&M Cross Country Schedule
September
1 Aggie Opener
9 Georgia SEC Preview (Athens, Ga)
23 Texas A&M Invitational
October
6 Aggie Open
13 Crimson Classic (Tuscaloosa, Al)
27 SEC Championships (Athens, Ga)
November
10 NCAA South Central Region (College Station, Tx)
18 NCAA Championships (Louisville, Ky)
The meet will include Texas, Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, UTSA, Incarnate Word, UT Rio Grande Valley, and Texas Southern. Starting at 6:45 p.m., the women cover a distance of 4,100m and the men will race over a 6,000m course at 7:15 p.m.
"It's a little deeper field to open the season," noted Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "It gives us a chance for this meet to be a little more of a test to see where we are at. In the past, with just three teams, sometimes it didn't give you a feel of a cross country race. With eight teams, we'll see enough bodies on the course and get a feel of what competing is like.
"It's still a rust-buster and a meet that is a dress rehearsal for us. I always feel like we've kind of gone to an era where people compete less. If you're doing it the right way, and keeping everything in its proper perspective, there's nothing better than competing. There's no workout you can do that is more race specific than an actual race itself. Why not get a couple of early season races under your belt to kind of get the wheels turning."
Texas A&M returns four seniors, two for the men and a pair on the women's side. They include Christian Farris and Alex Riba along with Devin Norton and Kelsey Persyn. Seven freshman join the men's squad this season while the women's crew will have nine new additions.
"On the men's side we have a great foundation when you start out with Alex Riba and Christian Farris, two guys who have been all-region and been in the top 20 among the SEC," said McRaven. "So, it's a good starting point. As those guys continue to progress and stay healthy, they should be thinking about being top 10 in the conference. Both Kelsey Persyn and Devin Norton have shown tremendous growth at athletes and students of the sport. I think they have the chance to make big gains this year.
"Others have stepped up, such as Jon Bishop, who was one of the top freshman in the SEC last season as well as the region. Brandt Preston was the Southland Conference freshman of the year and right behind Bishop in the region meet. Jacob Perry and Taylor Clayton both did well during the track season."
A pair of local talents will be among the leading returning athletes for the Aggies during this cross country season. Jon Bishop and Kelsie Warren, who both competed at College Station High School, each had successful freshman campaigns last year.
Another prominent local talent, Karis Jochen, has completed her cross country eligibility, but returns for a senior campaign during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.
"Our first goal in recruiting, in any event area, is to keep the best Texas kids at home," said McRaven. "That's even more so when you have talented athletes in your own backyard. We've had some pretty good luck recently of getting some of the better College Station kids, either from A&M Consolidated or College Station high school, to stay at Texas A&M.
"With Karis coming here and having success, that opened the door for Kelsie, who was a youngster looking up to Karis, and Bishop kind of saw the same thing as others came here, had some success and a positive experience."
Competing in the SEC Championships last fall, Bishop finished as the second freshman overall in the race as he placed third among the Aggie scoring five while Warren finished as the second Texas A&M runner in the conference meet. In the NCAA South Central meet, Bishop was third among the Aggie crew and 34th overall amid a field of 142.
"I was really pleased with how Kelsie Warren battled through some injury issues during track season last year and started figuring some things out," noted McRaven. "By the end of the track season she was running really well and just missed scoring in the SEC. She has the potential to be a really good cross country runner for us. She can provide some good upfront leadership."
Joining Warren from last year's crew of freshmen who made contributions during the season were Ashley Driscoll, Ashton Hutcherson and Lauryn Barrientos.
"Ashton Hutcherson had a nice breakthrough on the track to score in the SEC steeplechase and that opened her eyes a bit on the potential of how good she can be," said McRaven. "Last year's group of freshman are starting to figure things out and look like they can potentially be contributors on this level."
The 2017 schedule includes three home meets for the Aggies during the regular season, and Texas A&M serves as host of the NCAA South Central region meet during the postseason. The Aggies travel to Athens, Georgia, twice as they preview the conference course on September 9 and then return for the SEC Championships on October 27.
2017 Texas A&M Cross Country Schedule
September
1 Aggie Opener
9 Georgia SEC Preview (Athens, Ga)
23 Texas A&M Invitational
October
6 Aggie Open
13 Crimson Classic (Tuscaloosa, Al)
27 SEC Championships (Athens, Ga)
November
10 NCAA South Central Region (College Station, Tx)
18 NCAA Championships (Louisville, Ky)