The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M Invitational
Cross Country sweeps A&M Invitational
09.26.2015 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Men dominate again in victory
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – In their second race of the season the Texas Cross Country teams each came away with wins again. The men dominated their way to victory at the Texas A&M Invitational while the women edged out a win over Missouri to complete the sweep.
The men placed their five scoring runners all in the top 11 of the 8,000 meter race as lone senior Brady Turnbull finished third overall to lead the Longhorns to victory. Sophomores Jacob Pickle and Connor Hendrickson finished close behind in seventh and ninth place. Freshman Alex Rogers was 10th and junior Nate Moore was 11th to give the team a winning score of 37 points.
"The men had a solid performance. I thought we did a nice job of executing the race plan," said Cross Country Coach Brad Herbster. "The positive was a small gap from our one through five runners. Going forward it won't be easy to keep the group together as closely as the field will be larger."
On the women's side, Texas had a number of runners in the front pack early on. As the race progressed over the final 2,000 meters of the 6k course, other competitors were able to move up, but Texas held off the charge enough to get the win with 87 points. Missouri finished close behind in second with 92 points.
Despite the win, Herbster said his women's team needs to close better in the longer races.
"The plan was the same for the women, we just did not execute the way I know we can over the last 1,000 meters," Herbster said. "We gave up an enormous amount of spots. We must stay calm and work as a group. If a person falls off, we cannot let that impact the group performance. We came out with the win but did not race like the team I know we are."
Junior Sandie Raines was the top finisher for Texas in 10th place. The Longhorns had a pack of runners finish close to each other to keep the scoring low and hold off Missouri. The pack running proved to be the difference down the stretch as Missouri's runners were more spaced out than UT's.
Texas returns to action on Friday when they host their final home meet of the cross country season. The Longhorn Invitational is set for 6 p.m. Friday at the Spicewood Course at Balcones Country Club. This meet will include a number of regional teams and provide another opportunity for fans to see the Longhorns run in town. Admission to the Longhorn Invitational is free.
Players Mentioned
