
Photo by: Aiden Shertzer/Texas A&M Athletics
Aggie Cross Country to Host Arturo Barrios Invitational
Oct 14, 2022 | Cross Country
BRYAN - COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men's and women's cross country teams host the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course.
"When we built this course, we envisioned having big meets on it," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "This is the kind of meet that we want to host. I'm really excited that we have the opportunity to host a meet like this and have the advantages of racing at home."
Arturo Barrios, the meet's namesake, is a member of the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame. In his time in Aggieland, Barrios set school records in the 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m, and 10,000m races to go along with his three Southwest Conference Championship titles and silver medal in the 10,000m race at the 1985 NCAA Championships. After graduating from Texas A&M, Barrios set world records in the 10,000m, 20,000m, and one-hour run. His marks still stand as the Mexican national records.
"Arturo Barrios is the greatest distance runner to come through Texas A&M," McRaven said. "He had great success both collegiately and post-collegiately. When I was in college, if you paid attention to distance running at all, you knew who Arturo Barrios was. He means a lot to this program, and we hope that he feels honored by this meet. He's an Aggie legend and we want to do everything we can to honor him well."
Two weeks ago, the Aggies competed at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University, the men placed 16th while the women finished 19th. Junior Eric Casarez led the men with his sixth-place finish, covering the 8k course in 23:14.2. Casarez was followed by Junior Chandon Chhikara, who clocked 23:46.5. On the women's side, seniors Grace Plain (20:32.7), Julia Abell (20:41.5) and Abbey Santoro (20:53.5) led the way for the Aggies, all eclipsing the 21-minute barrier on the 6k course.
Forty men's teams and 42 women's teams are entered in the meet. Making the in-state trip are Baylor, Houston, Rice, SMU (women), TCU and Texas Tech. Florida, LSU and Vanderbilt come in from the SEC, while Ohio State brings competition from the Big 10. The Buckeyes women's team comes in ranked 24th in the nation. Also in attendance is Lipscomb, the returning champions from last year's men's and women's races.
"This will be a good test for our kids in getting in a big field," McRaven said. "We experienced that a few weeks ago at the Paul Short Run in Pennsylvania. We kind of got lost a little bit and this gives us the opportunity to see how we will react at home. We're going to do a few things this week to prepare us to be better two weeks from now."
The starting gun for the men's 8k is set to fire off at 9 a.m., with the women's 6k following at 9:45 a.m. Live results can be found here. Admission is free, no pets are allowed at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course.
12TH MAN REWARDS
12th Man Rewards is the free program that appreciates fans for standing with the 12th Man and attending Texas A&M Athletics events in support of creating a homefield advantage for our student-athletes and coaches. The more events you attend, your points will increase. Those points can be redeemed via the online Giveaway Store for a variety of items. Register today within the 12th Man Mobile app to earn 20 points at the match.
PROMOTIONS
Youth-Sized Aggies Script Shirt Giveaway: Maroon A&M shirts available for the first 50 kids that visit the Howdy Table at the main entrance of the Watts Cross Country Course.
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggietfxc).
-aTm-
"When we built this course, we envisioned having big meets on it," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "This is the kind of meet that we want to host. I'm really excited that we have the opportunity to host a meet like this and have the advantages of racing at home."
Arturo Barrios, the meet's namesake, is a member of the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame. In his time in Aggieland, Barrios set school records in the 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m, and 10,000m races to go along with his three Southwest Conference Championship titles and silver medal in the 10,000m race at the 1985 NCAA Championships. After graduating from Texas A&M, Barrios set world records in the 10,000m, 20,000m, and one-hour run. His marks still stand as the Mexican national records.
"Arturo Barrios is the greatest distance runner to come through Texas A&M," McRaven said. "He had great success both collegiately and post-collegiately. When I was in college, if you paid attention to distance running at all, you knew who Arturo Barrios was. He means a lot to this program, and we hope that he feels honored by this meet. He's an Aggie legend and we want to do everything we can to honor him well."
Two weeks ago, the Aggies competed at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University, the men placed 16th while the women finished 19th. Junior Eric Casarez led the men with his sixth-place finish, covering the 8k course in 23:14.2. Casarez was followed by Junior Chandon Chhikara, who clocked 23:46.5. On the women's side, seniors Grace Plain (20:32.7), Julia Abell (20:41.5) and Abbey Santoro (20:53.5) led the way for the Aggies, all eclipsing the 21-minute barrier on the 6k course.
Forty men's teams and 42 women's teams are entered in the meet. Making the in-state trip are Baylor, Houston, Rice, SMU (women), TCU and Texas Tech. Florida, LSU and Vanderbilt come in from the SEC, while Ohio State brings competition from the Big 10. The Buckeyes women's team comes in ranked 24th in the nation. Also in attendance is Lipscomb, the returning champions from last year's men's and women's races.
"This will be a good test for our kids in getting in a big field," McRaven said. "We experienced that a few weeks ago at the Paul Short Run in Pennsylvania. We kind of got lost a little bit and this gives us the opportunity to see how we will react at home. We're going to do a few things this week to prepare us to be better two weeks from now."
The starting gun for the men's 8k is set to fire off at 9 a.m., with the women's 6k following at 9:45 a.m. Live results can be found here. Admission is free, no pets are allowed at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course.
12TH MAN REWARDS
12th Man Rewards is the free program that appreciates fans for standing with the 12th Man and attending Texas A&M Athletics events in support of creating a homefield advantage for our student-athletes and coaches. The more events you attend, your points will increase. Those points can be redeemed via the online Giveaway Store for a variety of items. Register today within the 12th Man Mobile app to earn 20 points at the match.
PROMOTIONS
Youth-Sized Aggies Script Shirt Giveaway: Maroon A&M shirts available for the first 50 kids that visit the Howdy Table at the main entrance of the Watts Cross Country Course.
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggietfxc).
-aTm-
Players Mentioned
SEC Championships Preview: Wendel McRaven
Monday, October 28
NCAA Championships Preview: Wendel McRaven
Tuesday, November 14
NCAA Regional Preview: Wendel McRaven
Monday, November 06
SEC Preview Press Conference: Wendel McRaven
Monday, October 23