Friday, October 30
Baton Rouge, La.
9:00 AM
Texas A&M
at
SEC Championships
Photo by: Tyler Pounds/Texas A&M Athletics
Hoffpauir, Black Lead Aggies at SEC Cross Country Championships
Oct 30, 2020 | Cross Country
BATON ROUGE, La. – Juniors Gavin Hoffpauir and Julia Black paced the Texas A&M Men's and Women's Cross Country teams at the SEC Cross Country Championships at the University Club.
The Aggie men scored 228 points to finish ninth in the team's standings, while the women placed 13th with 294 points.
Hoffpauir, a native of The Woodlands, Texas, recorded a top 30 finish in the men's 8,000m race with a time of 24:50.0 at 29th overall. Sophomore Eric Casarez clocked in at 25:06.5 (36th) and junior Wes McPhail was the third Aggie to cross the finish line at 25:19.2 (53rd).
Senior Zephyr Seagraves ran 25:29.0 (59th), followed by sophomore Brady Grant to round out the top five finishers for Texas A&M at 25:35.4 (64th).
Six of the 10 entries for the Texas A&M men's team made their SEC Championships debut.
In the women's 6,000m race, Black led the Aggies with a time of 21:24.7. She placed 42nd overall. Fellow juniors, Grace Plain and Abbey Santoro followed with times of 21:34.3 (54th) and 21:47.3 (63rd).
The Aggies top five finishers were rounded out by junior Carrie Fish at 22:06.7 (83rd) and freshman Katelyn Buckley at 22:27.7 (100th).
Assistant Coach Wendel McRaven
On the course and physicality of the race…
"This is a tight course, I was surprised when I came to the tent afterwards to see how many athletes were getting cuts cleaned up from being spiked. The freshmen said to a T 'Yeah that's different than what I expected, I've never been in a race like that before.' It's a physical race and I think people that aren't familiar with cross country would be kind of shocked at how physical this kind of a race is as far as guys getting bumped, spiked and how many are bleeding at the end of the race which is not something you'd expect at a cross country race."
On Julia Black, Gavin Hoffpauir and the team's performances…
"Julia [Black] and Gavin [Hoffpauir] performed well, I felt on the women's side that our top three were solid. What killed us was that our four and five just weren't close enough. I think we're obviously a little disappointed on both sides. We aren't at full strength on either side. Not having Eric [Casarez] and Wes [McPhail] fully healthy hurt, both those guys should be in the top 15 in this conference. Gavin [Hoffpauir] stepped up and he really ran about what we expected him to run. We are walking away with our tail between our legs a little bit, you don't like getting beat."
On growing from this meet and moving forward…
"Not having a regional is a little bit of a bummer. You typically always have that meet to continue growing. You just have to circle this date next year and make sure you're ready to perform. The goal is to continue to grow individually but also grow as a team. In 2012 we finished eighth and the very next year that same group got second in the SEC. The potential for growth is there if they are the kind of athletes that are going to commit to do what's necessary to be great."
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggietfxc).
The Aggie men scored 228 points to finish ninth in the team's standings, while the women placed 13th with 294 points.
Hoffpauir, a native of The Woodlands, Texas, recorded a top 30 finish in the men's 8,000m race with a time of 24:50.0 at 29th overall. Sophomore Eric Casarez clocked in at 25:06.5 (36th) and junior Wes McPhail was the third Aggie to cross the finish line at 25:19.2 (53rd).
Senior Zephyr Seagraves ran 25:29.0 (59th), followed by sophomore Brady Grant to round out the top five finishers for Texas A&M at 25:35.4 (64th).
Six of the 10 entries for the Texas A&M men's team made their SEC Championships debut.
In the women's 6,000m race, Black led the Aggies with a time of 21:24.7. She placed 42nd overall. Fellow juniors, Grace Plain and Abbey Santoro followed with times of 21:34.3 (54th) and 21:47.3 (63rd).
The Aggies top five finishers were rounded out by junior Carrie Fish at 22:06.7 (83rd) and freshman Katelyn Buckley at 22:27.7 (100th).
Assistant Coach Wendel McRaven
On the course and physicality of the race…
"This is a tight course, I was surprised when I came to the tent afterwards to see how many athletes were getting cuts cleaned up from being spiked. The freshmen said to a T 'Yeah that's different than what I expected, I've never been in a race like that before.' It's a physical race and I think people that aren't familiar with cross country would be kind of shocked at how physical this kind of a race is as far as guys getting bumped, spiked and how many are bleeding at the end of the race which is not something you'd expect at a cross country race."
On Julia Black, Gavin Hoffpauir and the team's performances…
"Julia [Black] and Gavin [Hoffpauir] performed well, I felt on the women's side that our top three were solid. What killed us was that our four and five just weren't close enough. I think we're obviously a little disappointed on both sides. We aren't at full strength on either side. Not having Eric [Casarez] and Wes [McPhail] fully healthy hurt, both those guys should be in the top 15 in this conference. Gavin [Hoffpauir] stepped up and he really ran about what we expected him to run. We are walking away with our tail between our legs a little bit, you don't like getting beat."
On growing from this meet and moving forward…
"Not having a regional is a little bit of a bummer. You typically always have that meet to continue growing. You just have to circle this date next year and make sure you're ready to perform. The goal is to continue to grow individually but also grow as a team. In 2012 we finished eighth and the very next year that same group got second in the SEC. The potential for growth is there if they are the kind of athletes that are going to commit to do what's necessary to be great."
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggietfxc).
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