Texas A&M women win team title in Aggieland Open, men runner-up

Friday, October 6

College Station

5:45 p.m.

Texas A&M

Aggieland Open

Oct 06, 2017 | Cross Country

Aggieland Open - women's results Aggieland Open - men's results Photo Gallery

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M women totaled 24 points in winning the team title at the Aggieland Open on Friday evening as Devin Norton led a 2-3-4-6-9 finish by the Aggies, covering the 5,000-meter distance in 18 minutes, 51.7 seconds on the Dale Watts cross country course.

The Texas A&M men finished as runner-up in team scoring with 42 points, led by Ryan Trahan's third-place effort as he ran 15:27.4 over a 5,000m course.

Placing behind the Aggie women in team scoring were Tarleton State (62), Baylor (108), Sam Houston State (110), UTSA (125), Louisiana-Monroe (129), Prairie View (155) and Texas Southern (235).

"I thought they competed well," noted Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "It was pretty hot out and I wanted them to be a little bit conservative early in race, but they didn't quite listen to that 100 percent. They got out a little bit aggressively. The result was good."

In following Norton's runner-up effort, Texas A&M's leading crew included Olivia Arriaza and Lizette Chapa. Those three Aggies were separated by just four seconds at the finish line. Arriaza posted a time of 18:55.9 as Chapa clocked 18:59.1. Shelby McNeel (19:28.5) placed sixth in the race while Valarie Bradley (19:41.1) finished 10^th to complete the team score for Texas A&M.

"I know Devin's been chomping at the bit since she didn't have a great result at our last home meet," said McRaven. "She kind of got a late start with some injury issues this season. She ran well as did Arriaza while Chapa has had a breakthrough this whole season."

Norton added: "I'm really excited about this race, I'm a senior this year and my season got off to a rough start. So, it was good to get a good race under my belt. I had Olivia and Lizette right there with me during the race, which was awesome."

Amelia McElhinney (19:46.8) was the sixth Aggie to complete the course as she placed 11^th. The Texas A&M squad also included Sarah Odneal (16^th, 20:11.4), Audrey Spitz (20:14.7), Morgan Michals (22^nd, 20:22.5), and Nikki Keys (35^th, 21:07.9).

Tarleton State, led by individual winner Justin Botello (15:21.4) and runner-up Quenten Lasseter (15:24.8), claimed the men's title with 37 points, finishing five points ahead of the Aggies. Botello pulled away from the lead pack in the final 50m of the race, edging his teammate by three seconds and Trahan by six seconds. Tarleton's team score came from a 1-2-5-6-23 finish.

Texas A&M scored 42 points as the runner-up, and were followed by Sam Houston State (63), Louisiana-Monroe (119), Prairie View (126), UTSA (151), UT Arlington (186) and Texas Southern (198).

"It was a bit of a relief coming down to a 5k after opening at 6,000 meters and moving up to 8,000 meters," said Trahan. "With the 5k a shorter race it feels more like a sprint compared to the longer distances we race. The finish of the race came down to four or five runners in the last 600m. I gave it a good effort and the Tarleton guys had a nice kick today."

Behind Trahan, the Aggies had runners place 7-9-10-13 to complete the team score. Juan Uribe placed ninth as the second Aggie, posting a time of 15:51.2, with Sam Erikson finishing 11^th in 15:55.2 and Zephyr Seagraves posting a 15:58.6 in 12^th place. Eli Canal completed the team score as the fifth Aggie, placing 15^th in 16:05.8.

"We ran a shorter race with the men," stated McRaven. "It's was a chance for them to run a shorter distance both for training as well as an opportunity to potentially make the travel squad. It was good for them, and obviously we wanted to win on the men's side as well. We came close to pulling it off."

Nicko Enochs (16:12.0) and Zach Martin (16:28.1) were the sixth and seventh Aggies completing the race as they placed 17^th and 27^th while Chandler Rathke (16:51.2) finished 41^st.

Two Aggie freshmen, competing unattached, finished among the top 10. Joel Potter (15:44.9) and Theo Goff (15:47.9) would have been the second and third runners for Texas A&M as they placed seventh and eighth overall.