The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championships
Men's Cross Country closes 2016 campaign
11.19.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns finish 30th at NCAA Championships
NCAA Cross Country Championships
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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Texas Men's Cross Country closed the 2016 season on Saturday with its eighth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Longhorns finished 30th with 736 points, improving on last year's finish and had the tightest spread in the meet.
Texas jumped to the front of the pack early and had its top five runners in a pack to put the Longhorns in contention early but they faltered over the final 4,000 meters.
"I think we got out really well, which we haven't done in the past," said Coach Brad Herbster. "At the 5k we were in the top 10, which was great. It just kind of got away from us as the 6k came around. Today was a day we can improve upon and build upon. A slight improvement from last year but we've got to move up and be a power in the top 15, top 20 year in and year out."
At the first split time location the Longhorns were in eighth place. Then at the next checkpoint of around 4K, Texas was in ninth. Then, the Longhorns began to fade back and were in 21st at the next timing split.
With cold, windy conditions on the LaVern Gipson Championship Cross Country Course were different than any Texas had seen all season but were more traditional for the sport during this time of year.
"Cold and windy, but I love it. That's what cross country is. You don't want the opposite with hot and no wind. It's cross country season and you expect those conditions," Herbster said. "The course was in great shape so hats off to Indiana State for getting the course in good shape."
The Longhorns were able to run in a tight pack for much of the race, cutting down on the time spread from their No. 1 to No. 5 runners. The gap between Robert Uhr in 166th place and John Rice in 195th was just 16.9 seconds, by far the closest spread in the entire field.
Herbster said he was impressed with how true freshman Spencer Dodds ran in making the transition to college and racing a 10K in back-to-back weeks.
"I thought Spencer Dodds did a really good job of competing all the way through the race. I thought Uhr finished up his season well. He's had a good season," Herbster said. "For Dodds to step in and lead our team for most of the race was impressive for a freshman."
Dodds finished 167th for the Longhorns less than a second behind Uhr at 31:21.1. Junior Connor Hendrickson was right behind Dodds in 172nd place and a time of 31:23.9. Sophomore Alex Rogers was the fourth runner across for Texas in 191st, and Rice rounded out the top five for Texas in 195th and a time of 31:37.1.
"It's a race where we've got to make sure we're always locking down that top 20. This is a meet where it's not so much about running great, it's more about not blowing up. Making sure all your pieces are moving in a good direction," Herbster said. "That top five has to work together and make sure they're in a good spot. I think next year, it's a chance for us to be a top 15, top 10 team.
"It's a good group and we've got good leadership in place. The future looks really bright at Texas for cross country. Overall with the group we have and the group we have coming in it will be a very, very good group for years to come."
NCAA Cross Country Championships Texas Results
Place: Name, Time, Pts
166: Robert Uhr, 31:20.3, 136
167: Spencer Dodds, 31:21.1, 137
172: Connor Hendrickson, 31:23.9, 142
191: Alex Rogers, 31:35.2, 159
195: John Rice, 31:37.1, 162
232: Nate Moore, 32:29.4, (195)
233: Allen Sumrall, 32:29.5 (196)
NCAA Cross Country Championships Top 10 Team Scores
Place: Team, Pts
1: Northern Arizona, 125
2: Stanford, 158
3: Syracuse, 164
4: Ole Miss, 196
5: Arkansas, 206
6: Colorado, 223
7: BYU, 247
8: Wisconsin, 256
9: Oregon, 282
10: Iona, 319
Additional Quotes
Coach Brad Herbster
On the team's tight gap: I look at the spacing, I think we had one of the smallest gaps in terms of time in the entire meet. We just need somebody to step up and be that low stick and be in that All-American spot. If we have one All-American on our team today, we're in the top 25.
Players Mentioned
