The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA South Central Regional
Cross Country advances to NCAA Championships
11.15.2019 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The men won the South Central Regional for the first time since 2012, while the women took second.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Texas Men's and Women's Cross Country teams each earned automatic qualifying berths to the NCAA Championships on Friday. Each also placed six runners on the all-region squad Friday at the NCAA South Central Regionals.
The Longhorn men turned in a dominating performance, winning the team title and having the top two finishers in the 10K race. UT finished first with a score of 39 (1-2-5-12-19), while Sam Worley won the individual medal with a time of 29:49.8, and teammate John Rice finished second by running 29:54.2 on Friday. It was the men's first regional team title since 2012, and Worley won UT's first individual regional medal since Paul Morrison recorded a 29:43 in 2003.
The Longhorns finished ahead of second-place Arkansas (67), third-place Texas A&M (128), fourth-place Lamar (134) and fifth-place Rice (202).
By finishing among the top 25 individuals, four other Longhorns earned All-South Central Regional honors: Haftu Knight (5th, 30:07.8), Clayton Carrozza (12th, 30:37.0), Garek Bielaczyk (19th,30:54.6) and Daniel Golden (22nd, 30:58.1).
"I'm really proud of the boys," said Texas men's distance coach Pete Watson. "Coming to Fayetteville and getting both a team win and an individual win is a great feeling for the guys and a move forward for this program. Sam and John ran a really disciplined race and I'm excited for their prospects at NCAA's. And how about those two freshmen, Knight and Carrozza? I also have to give a lot of respect to Garek, who was injured in August and September, and spent so much time training on the treadmill trying to get back for the championship season. And for Dan Golden to win All-Region the first time today.
"It was a great team effort, but now we'll check our emotions and get ready for nationals next Saturday."
The Texas women finished second as a team with a score of 63 (8-9-14-15-17), besting third-place Texas A&M (106), fourth-place UTRGV (164) and fifth-place Rice (180). Arkansas, ranked No. 1 in the USTFCCCA national rankings, won the South Central Regional team title, capturing the first five individual places for a perfect score of 15.
Six Longhorns won All-South Central Region honors by finishing among the top 25 individuals: Destiny Collins (8th, 20:56.90), Kathryn Gillespie (9th, 20:58.8), Claudine Blancaflor (15th, 21:21.7), Beth Ramos (16th, 21:25.4), Madeline Vondra (18th, 21:31.6) and Marissa Flournoy (24th, 21:48.3).
"I'm very pleased with the effort that our team put forth today," said Texas women's distance coach PattiSue Plumer. "This was their best race of the year and it sets us up for nationals. We knew that Texas A&M had a strong team and would be contending for the number two automatic qualifier spot, and that their number one and two were outstanding racers.
"Our goal was to get our top seven in front of their top five, and our ladies executed that strategy perfectly. Plus, six of our top seven made the All-Region team. We would have loved to get all seven there, but we're proud that Isabel Hebner (32nd, 22:10.5) got in front of their number five with a strong home-stretch finish."
The Longhorns will compete in the NCAA National Championships next Saturday, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Players Mentioned
