Friday, November 14
Fayetteville, Ark.
9:00 AM
Texas A&M
at
NCAA South Central Regional
Photo by: Julianne Shivers/Texas A&M Athletics
Aggie Contingent Heads to NCAA Championships
Nov 20, 2025 | Cross Country
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Texas A&M women's cross country team and men's individual qualifier Jack Johnston compete at the NCAA Championships at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course Saturday. The gun goes off at 9:20 a.m. for the women's 6k, followed by Johnston running the 10k at 10:10 a.m.
The Aggie women head to the championships following a historic performance at the NCAA South Central Regional, winning the team title for only the second time in school history. The team's qualification marks the third overall trip to the national meet and second in the last three years. Their showing at the regional meet locked up a 26th national ranking heading into the NCAA championships.
The women's lineup consists of five All-Region runners from the qualifying event, including Joyce Kemboi and Debora Cherono who led the group in fourth and seventh place, respectively. They were followed by Megan Roberts in 15th, Sophia Bendet in 23rd and Elise Smoot in 25th.
"It was a really good weekend up in Fayetteville," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "For the women to win the regional meet it was spectacular. We went in there with the hope of just qualifying and, to not only qualify, but to win the meet was really special. They did a nice job. Nice to see them continue to get better every week."
Johnston has spearheaded the Aggie men's charge throughout the 2025 campaign, placing in the top two A&M finishers in five of the six meets this year. He stepped his level of performance up even further in the postseason, crossing the line first for the Maroon & White competitors at the conference championships and regional meet which earned him All-SEC Third Team and All-Region honors, respectively.
"Jack's [Johnston] a story," McRaven continued. "He's a kid who came in with good high school credentials, not overwhelming by any stretch of the imagination. He's just gotten better and what stands out about him is that it's a lot of times how kids view themselves. He comes in and he immediately has viewed himself as this is the standard I have for myself up here. He's chased that standard and, he's going to be the standard before he's done here."
The Texas A&M contingent is set to compete against 49 teams on the men's and women's sides including Air Force (M), Alabama, Arkansas (M), BYU, Boise State (W), Boston College (W), Butler (M), CBU (M), Colorado, Eastern Kentucky (M), Florida (W), Georgetown, Georgia (M), Harvard (M), Iona (M), Iowa State, LSU (W), Louisville (M), Michigan (M), Michigan State (M), Missouri (W), NC State (W), New Mexico, North Carolina, Northern Arizona, Northwestern (W), Notre Dame, Oklahoma (M), Oklahoma State, Ole Miss (M), Oregon, Penn State (W), Princeton (M), Providence (W), South Carolina (W), Stanford (W), Syracuse (M), Tennessee (W), Tulane (M), Utah (W), Villanova (W), Virginia, Virginia Tech (M), Wake Forest, Washington (W), Washington St., West Virginia (W) and Wisconsin. There will also be an extra 34 schools represented individually on the women's side and 31 on the men's.
Fans can follow the meet live through PrimeTime Timing.
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, head to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
The Aggie women head to the championships following a historic performance at the NCAA South Central Regional, winning the team title for only the second time in school history. The team's qualification marks the third overall trip to the national meet and second in the last three years. Their showing at the regional meet locked up a 26th national ranking heading into the NCAA championships.
The women's lineup consists of five All-Region runners from the qualifying event, including Joyce Kemboi and Debora Cherono who led the group in fourth and seventh place, respectively. They were followed by Megan Roberts in 15th, Sophia Bendet in 23rd and Elise Smoot in 25th.
"It was a really good weekend up in Fayetteville," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "For the women to win the regional meet it was spectacular. We went in there with the hope of just qualifying and, to not only qualify, but to win the meet was really special. They did a nice job. Nice to see them continue to get better every week."
Johnston has spearheaded the Aggie men's charge throughout the 2025 campaign, placing in the top two A&M finishers in five of the six meets this year. He stepped his level of performance up even further in the postseason, crossing the line first for the Maroon & White competitors at the conference championships and regional meet which earned him All-SEC Third Team and All-Region honors, respectively.
"Jack's [Johnston] a story," McRaven continued. "He's a kid who came in with good high school credentials, not overwhelming by any stretch of the imagination. He's just gotten better and what stands out about him is that it's a lot of times how kids view themselves. He comes in and he immediately has viewed himself as this is the standard I have for myself up here. He's chased that standard and, he's going to be the standard before he's done here."
The Texas A&M contingent is set to compete against 49 teams on the men's and women's sides including Air Force (M), Alabama, Arkansas (M), BYU, Boise State (W), Boston College (W), Butler (M), CBU (M), Colorado, Eastern Kentucky (M), Florida (W), Georgetown, Georgia (M), Harvard (M), Iona (M), Iowa State, LSU (W), Louisville (M), Michigan (M), Michigan State (M), Missouri (W), NC State (W), New Mexico, North Carolina, Northern Arizona, Northwestern (W), Notre Dame, Oklahoma (M), Oklahoma State, Ole Miss (M), Oregon, Penn State (W), Princeton (M), Providence (W), South Carolina (W), Stanford (W), Syracuse (M), Tennessee (W), Tulane (M), Utah (W), Villanova (W), Virginia, Virginia Tech (M), Wake Forest, Washington (W), Washington St., West Virginia (W) and Wisconsin. There will also be an extra 34 schools represented individually on the women's side and 31 on the men's.
Fans can follow the meet live through PrimeTime Timing.
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, head to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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