The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Cross Country preview: Big 12 Championships
10.28.2010 | XC: Women_Old, Track & Field / Cross Country
Oct. 28, 2010
Meet Info
What: 2010 Big 12 Cross Country Championships
When: Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010
Race Time: 10:00 a.m. Central
Venue: OSU Cross Country Course, Stillwater, Okla.
Course Distance: 6K
-The University of Texas Women's Cross Country team will travel to Stillwater, Okla. to compete in the 2010 Big 12 Cross Country Championship this weekend. The 6K race will start at 10 a.m. CT at the Oklahoma State University Cross Country Course.
-Competing for Texas this Saturday will be seniors Christina Henderson and Allison Mendez, juniors Julie Amthor, Mia Behm and Ginny Simon, sophomore Laleh Mojtabaeezamani and freshmen Marielle Hall, Megan Siebert and Sara Sutherland.
-The Longhorns placed eighth with 210 points at the 2009 Big 12 Championships, which were held at the A.L. Gustin Golf Course in Columbia, Mo. Betzy Jimenez led Texas with a 19th place finish (22:17.64) followed closely by Mia Behm (24th, 22:25.66). Asia Myrland crossed the finish line in 22:50.37 for 36th, with Allison Mendez (23:23.73) and Melissa Mahoney (24:18.41) rounding out scoring for the Horns in 55th and 83rd, respectively.
-Texas last competed at the ISU Pre-Nationals Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., finishing an impressive 5th out of 37 teams in the Blue Invitational 6K. The race was ran on the same course that will host the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships in November. Freshman Marielle Hall led the Horns with a 17th place finish in 20:41.7 in her first collegiate 6K race. Mia Behm was close behind, posting a 6K career-best 20:50.9 for 29th.
-UT hopes to capitalize on experience gained last season, including a strong showing at the NCAA South Central Region Championships where senior Betzy Jimenez and now junior Behm individually qualified for the 2009 NCAA Cross Championships. The pair marked the first Longhorns to advance to the national meet since 2003. Despite the loss of Jimenez, Texas returns Behm along with senior Mendez, who won two individual titles in 2009, as well as redshirt sophomore Mojtabaeezamani.
-Texas has also added an impressive freshman class to its roster that will look to make an impact in 2010, highlighted by Hall out of Haddonfield, N.J. Hall, who finished 18th at the 2009 Foot Locker XC Nationals. Hall will be joined by a group of Texas runners in Siebert (Dallas, Texas), Sutherland (Dallas, Texas), Jessica Harper (Southlake, Texas) and Jourdan Ellis (Abilene, Texas).
-The Longhorns will next travel to Waco, Texas to compete in the NCAA South Central Regional on Nov. 13, 2010.