The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championships
Men's Cross Country ready for NCAA Championships
11.18.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns face nation's top teams
NCAA Cross Country Championships
Time: Saturday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m. CT (women); 11 a.m. CT (men)
Where: LaVern Gipson Championship Cross Country Course
Championship Central Pages: USTFCCCA | Host Site
Live Video | Live Results
Entries | Box Draws
Course Maps: Women: 6K | Men: 10K
Video: Press Conference with Brad Herbster and Nate Moore
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – On Saturday the Texas Men's Cross Country team will make its eighth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Longhorns will be among the 31 teams fighting it out on the LaVern Gipson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana, and eyeing a strong close to the season.
Last year the Longhorns finished 31st and want to improve on that performance this time around with a group that carries youth and experience into the meet.
"Cross country is one of the harder championships to make. Only 31 teams in the country make it and we're really excited to be back and see what we can do," Coach Brad Herbster said. "For us right now with the young group, we've got two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and one senior, our goal is to really get in there and do the very best we can to place in the top 15 and make a run to be one of the best Big 12 teams at the national meet."
The course will be familiar for some Longhorns from 2014 when Indiana State served as the host of the championship race.
Conditions could play a factor in how the race pans out for all competitors with Spring-like weather during the week and at practices, but Friday afternoon showers will give way overnight to cold temperatures and high winds on Saturday for the race.
"Last time in Terre Haute it was really cold. It was about 20 degrees and muddy and snow coming down. That's cross country," Herbster said. "This course is a fair course. It's pretty hilly but also it pretty wide open, the first 1,000 meters are straight. This course will allow us to run freely and really perform at a similar level to Notre Dame."
The best finish for the Longhorns during their stretch of seven straight NCAA appearances was ninth in 2012. Senior Nate Moore said he wants to see his teammates come together as a group for performance that would put them back in the top 20 after a disappointing finish to 2015. He believes the Longhorns can do that because the squad has depth and the ability to put its top runners up front with the leaders.
"I would say the biggest difference is we have more depth on this team. This year we've got seven guys and the top five has interchanged all year. We've had three different No. 1 runners," Moore said. "We're a little stronger on the front end also. We have some more front runners who can do a better job of scoring those low points in these big meets."
In 2013, the Longhorns finished 14th. That also was the last time Texas had an All-American with Ryan Dohner and Craig Lutz both finishing in the top 40 to earn that honor.
Herbster said this year's championship meet includes the usual suspects, but his Longhorns have confidence and with a long straightaway finish, closing hard will be more important than ever this season.
"We've got a bunch of teams with a lot of tradition we want to make sure we're beating those Power 5 conferences but also beating as many teams as we can," Herbster said. "In this race, 10 seconds will separate 40 runners, so it's really important we step up and have great performances from all seven runners to make sure they're closing those gaps and winning those battles in the last 400 meters."
Fans can keep up with the action live as FloTrack will be live streaming the meet through its FloPro services. The service is normally for subscribers only, but FloTrack and FloSports are offering a free 7-day trial for the NCAA Championships. The women's race starts at xxx and the Texas men will run at 11 a.m. CT.
Live results will be provided by timerHub. Links to the results can be found at texassports.com, ustfccca.org and ncaa.com.
Updates on the Longhorns will be available on Twitter on the official Texas Track & Field account @UTexasTrack. Fans are also encouraged to follow @USTFCCCA, @FloTrack and @XCTownUSA for updates from the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Additional Quotes
Coach Brad Herbster
On expectations from NCAA field: For us you'll have Oregon and Colorado up there at all points, the perennial powerhouses. For us competing against and trying to be the best team in the Big 12. Right now Oklahoma State's ranked in the Top 10 in the country. We've got a bunch of teams with a lot of tradition we want to make sure we're beating those Power 5 conferences but also beating as many teams as we can. In this race, 10 seconds will separate 40 runners, so it's really important we step up and have great performances from all seven runners to make sure they're closing those gaps and winning those battles in the last 400 meters.
On his team: It's all about them. They got here and got to this point. It's exciting to see them develop, especially a senior like Nate Moore, who finished top 20 a year ago (at the regional). They work hard throughout the year just like any other team does, but it's exciting to see them progress and develop and really take that national stage and take ownership at the national level.
On moving up from an 8K to 10K for regionals and NCAA's and running back-to-back weeks: Now we're going from a 10k on Friday to a 10k on Saturday so that will be the biggest challenge with the quick turnaround. But everybody does it and it's survival of the fittest at this point.
Senior, Nate Moore
On quick turnaround from regionals to NCAA's: I had a really solid race at regionals. Stepping up to the 10k I think that benefits me a little bit because I'm more experienced. I think the big thing about turning around from regionals to nationals in one week is focusing on recovering. I think the team is going to have a pretty good showing at the national championship.
On leadership: I think a big part of transitioning from the high school level to the collegiate level is the mentality you have going into races. You just got to have a lot more confidence. You've got to believe that you're good enough to run with these guys. We've worked with kind of exemplifying and showing these kids how to have that confidence.
On his goals this week: I would say an All-America finish. Top 40 is definitely the goal for me. That's just a very big accomplishment and I'd like to seal off my collegiate cross country career with an All-American finish.
Players Mentioned
