Saturday, September 25
Bryan-College Station
8:00 AM
Texas A&M
vs
Texas A&M Invitational
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
Cross Country Prepared to Host Texas A&M Invitational
Sep 23, 2021 | Cross Country
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Aggie men's and women's cross country teams host the Texas A&M Invitational Saturday morning at 8 a.m. at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course.
"Every meet is another step in the process and we're trying to get better every time we're out there," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "The competition gets a little bit better and these teams are a little bit better than the opener. Next week we go to Missouri and that will be a little bit better competition than this meet, then we host the Arturo Barrios Invitational Oct. 16 and that will be the best meet we see during the regular season."
LAST TIME OUT
The Maroon & White opened their season sweeping the Aggie Opener on Sept. 1. Gemma Goddard led the women's team winning the overall individual title in her collegiate debut with a time of 14:26.8 (4.1k). Other notable performances included Abbey Santoro who placed third at 14:27.8, followed by Maddie Livingston in fifth at 14:31.8. Julia Black crossed the finish line sixth (14:33.1), while Grace Plain placed ninth (14:48.0) to round out the top five Aggie finishers.
On the men's side, Eric Casarez finished first overall with a time of 15:14.5 (5k). Joseph Benn joined Casarez with a top-five finish, crossing the finish line at 15:44.2 to place fourth overall. Fellow Aggies Victor Zuniga (15:54.1), Gavin Hoffpauir (15:56.7), and Jonathan Chung (16:01.9) each recorded top 10 finishes.
HOW TO KEEP UP
The gun goes off at 8 a.m. for the men's 8k race, followed by the women running the 5k course at 8:45 a.m. Following the collegiate races, the Texas A&M High School Invitational is slated to begin at 9:15 a.m.
Admission to the meet is free. Fans can follow @aggietfxc on twitter for live updates and a live results link will be provided on 12thMan.com. Dale Watts Cross Country Course is located directly behind the Hildebrand Equine Complex on the corner of F and B Road and FM 2818. For GPS units, a good address to use is 3242 F and B Road, College Station. Patrons are asked to park in the Equine Complex parking lot and then make the short walk to the course's start/finish line.
HE SAID, SHE SAID
Senior Eric Casarez on the support of the 12thMan…
"You can't beat the 12thMan! They get hyped, it's a tradition here and we're a family. No matter if you're in the back of the race or the front, you're going to have someone screaming at you and supporting you. It's awesome and I love it. Dale Watts is an amazing course, especially when they mow it, you just can't beat it. If you get a good day on the Watts course, the runner's high is insane."
Senior Abbey Santoro on the women's team…
"I'm really excited about this group of girls and the team mentality that we have this year. We've come a long way, the biggest change that I've noticed is that everyone is really bringing it to practice and that's made it more enjoyable and has created a great team environment. We have a good group of freshman that are getting in the mix and I'm really excited to see how they will develop over the season."
THE COMPETITION
Entering the field along the Aggies include regional teams Baylor, North Texas, Prairie View A&M, Rice, Tarleton State, Texas A&M International, Texas A&M Kingsville and UTSA. Rice enters a men's squad that is No. 3 in the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association South Central Regional rankings, its women's team is No. 7. Texas A&M is the only program with both teams in the top five of the USTFCCCA South Central Regional rankings, the women are No. 3 and men No. 5.
To learn more about Texas A&M track & field/cross country, log on to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
"Every meet is another step in the process and we're trying to get better every time we're out there," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "The competition gets a little bit better and these teams are a little bit better than the opener. Next week we go to Missouri and that will be a little bit better competition than this meet, then we host the Arturo Barrios Invitational Oct. 16 and that will be the best meet we see during the regular season."
LAST TIME OUT
The Maroon & White opened their season sweeping the Aggie Opener on Sept. 1. Gemma Goddard led the women's team winning the overall individual title in her collegiate debut with a time of 14:26.8 (4.1k). Other notable performances included Abbey Santoro who placed third at 14:27.8, followed by Maddie Livingston in fifth at 14:31.8. Julia Black crossed the finish line sixth (14:33.1), while Grace Plain placed ninth (14:48.0) to round out the top five Aggie finishers.
On the men's side, Eric Casarez finished first overall with a time of 15:14.5 (5k). Joseph Benn joined Casarez with a top-five finish, crossing the finish line at 15:44.2 to place fourth overall. Fellow Aggies Victor Zuniga (15:54.1), Gavin Hoffpauir (15:56.7), and Jonathan Chung (16:01.9) each recorded top 10 finishes.
HOW TO KEEP UP
The gun goes off at 8 a.m. for the men's 8k race, followed by the women running the 5k course at 8:45 a.m. Following the collegiate races, the Texas A&M High School Invitational is slated to begin at 9:15 a.m.
Admission to the meet is free. Fans can follow @aggietfxc on twitter for live updates and a live results link will be provided on 12thMan.com. Dale Watts Cross Country Course is located directly behind the Hildebrand Equine Complex on the corner of F and B Road and FM 2818. For GPS units, a good address to use is 3242 F and B Road, College Station. Patrons are asked to park in the Equine Complex parking lot and then make the short walk to the course's start/finish line.
HE SAID, SHE SAID
Senior Eric Casarez on the support of the 12thMan…
"You can't beat the 12thMan! They get hyped, it's a tradition here and we're a family. No matter if you're in the back of the race or the front, you're going to have someone screaming at you and supporting you. It's awesome and I love it. Dale Watts is an amazing course, especially when they mow it, you just can't beat it. If you get a good day on the Watts course, the runner's high is insane."
Senior Abbey Santoro on the women's team…
"I'm really excited about this group of girls and the team mentality that we have this year. We've come a long way, the biggest change that I've noticed is that everyone is really bringing it to practice and that's made it more enjoyable and has created a great team environment. We have a good group of freshman that are getting in the mix and I'm really excited to see how they will develop over the season."
THE COMPETITION
Entering the field along the Aggies include regional teams Baylor, North Texas, Prairie View A&M, Rice, Tarleton State, Texas A&M International, Texas A&M Kingsville and UTSA. Rice enters a men's squad that is No. 3 in the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association South Central Regional rankings, its women's team is No. 7. Texas A&M is the only program with both teams in the top five of the USTFCCCA South Central Regional rankings, the women are No. 3 and men No. 5.
To learn more about Texas A&M track & field/cross country, log on to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
Players Mentioned
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