COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M's cross country season starts with the Aggie Opener on the Dale Watts course on Friday evening. Five schools will compete in the women's 4,100m distance, starting at 6:45 p.m., along with a men's 6,000m race, starting at 7:15 p.m.
Schools joining the Aggies in the meet include Houston, Stephen F. Austin, UT Rio Grande Valley and UTSA. In preseason rankings for the NCAA South Central Region, Texas A&M men are ranked third and the women are fifth. In the men's region rankings, Houston is ranked 11th with SFA 15th. On the women's side UTSA is ranked 14th.
"This is a rust buster for us," noted Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "It's a chance to see where we're at as we go through the race day routine for the first time this year. It provides us some good feedback, but the reality is that it's just the first step of the year. I'm sure we will see some good things and some areas that we will need to improve on. It's just fun to compete.
"In this first meet we always try to get our athletes to run together as much as possible. We try to choreograph that a little bit, but they have to actually execute what we talk about."
Junior Jon Bishop, an individual qualifier for the NCAA Championships in cross country last fall, returns to the lead the Aggie men. He is joined by a crew of seniors which includes Eli Canal, Taylor Clayton, Zach Martin, Jacob Perry, and Chandler Rathke. An addition to the senior class is transfer Noah Jacobs.
The women's team will feature a NCAA champion in Sammy Watson, who claimed the national 800m title last June in her freshman season with the Aggies. This will be Watson's debut cross country race for Texas A&M.
A pair of All-SEC performers highlight the women's squad with juniors Ashley Driscoll and Kelsie Warren. The Aggie seniors include Valarie Bradley, Lizette Chapa, Amelia McElhinney, and Kaitlin Tanner.
"We will run all of our incoming freshmen unattached for this first meet," said McRaven. "The time we get to train together prior to the first meet is so small that we really use the early meets as part of the evaluation process. The biggest thing for the freshmen to realize is that this is just the first step along the way."
Schools joining the Aggies in the meet include Houston, Stephen F. Austin, UT Rio Grande Valley and UTSA. In preseason rankings for the NCAA South Central Region, Texas A&M men are ranked third and the women are fifth. In the men's region rankings, Houston is ranked 11th with SFA 15th. On the women's side UTSA is ranked 14th.
"This is a rust buster for us," noted Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "It's a chance to see where we're at as we go through the race day routine for the first time this year. It provides us some good feedback, but the reality is that it's just the first step of the year. I'm sure we will see some good things and some areas that we will need to improve on. It's just fun to compete.
"In this first meet we always try to get our athletes to run together as much as possible. We try to choreograph that a little bit, but they have to actually execute what we talk about."
Junior Jon Bishop, an individual qualifier for the NCAA Championships in cross country last fall, returns to the lead the Aggie men. He is joined by a crew of seniors which includes Eli Canal, Taylor Clayton, Zach Martin, Jacob Perry, and Chandler Rathke. An addition to the senior class is transfer Noah Jacobs.
The women's team will feature a NCAA champion in Sammy Watson, who claimed the national 800m title last June in her freshman season with the Aggies. This will be Watson's debut cross country race for Texas A&M.
A pair of All-SEC performers highlight the women's squad with juniors Ashley Driscoll and Kelsie Warren. The Aggie seniors include Valarie Bradley, Lizette Chapa, Amelia McElhinney, and Kaitlin Tanner.
"We will run all of our incoming freshmen unattached for this first meet," said McRaven. "The time we get to train together prior to the first meet is so small that we really use the early meets as part of the evaluation process. The biggest thing for the freshmen to realize is that this is just the first step along the way."