The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Cross Country Championship
Cross Country posts pair of top-three finishes at Big 12 Championships
11.02.2019 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The Texas women finished second, while the men took third, in Waco.
WACO, Texas – The Texas Cross Country programs racked up seven individual All-Big 12 honors, as the Longhorn women finished second and the men finished third at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships on Saturday. It was the women's highest finish since 2011 and the fifth consecutive year that the Texas men have finished among the top three at the conference meet.
The Texas women finished with a score of 54 (4-5-6-15-24), two points behind the champions, Oklahoma State. The men recorded a total of 72 points (4-7-13-24-24). Iowa State won the men's conference championship with 34 and Oklahoma State finished second with 58.
Senior Kathryn Gillespie led the Longhorn women with a fourth-place time of 20:43.4 over the 6,000-meter course. UT junior Claudine Blancaflor finished fifth (20:45.0), a nose ahead of teammate Destiny Collins, a senior (20:45.3).
Freshman Beth Ramos finished 15th with a time of 21:10.0 and junior Marissa Flournoy finished 24th with 21:34.8, to round out the Longhorns' top five.
By virtue of their individual finishes in the top 15, Gillespie, Blancaflor, Collins and Ramos earned All-Big 12 Conference honors.
"I am very proud of these women," said Texas women's distance coach PattiSue Plumer. "They raced so hard and left nothing on the course. The team has improved so much this season.
"We wanted to finish in the top three, so we met that goal, but of course we are very disappointed to come so close to winning the Big 12. Oklahoma State and West Virginia are outstanding teams and it's great to be in that company."
Junior Sam Worley led the Longhorn men with a fourth-place individual finish, recording a time of 23.50.5 in the men's 8K. Worley was in 11th place at the 5k mark, but then kicked his way into fourth place with one kilometer remaining in the race.
Senior John Rice finished seventh individually with a time of 23:58 and freshman Haftu Knight finished 13th with a time of 24:06.1.
By finishing among the top 15 individuals, Worley, Rice and Knight earned All-Big 12 honors.
Crayton Carrozza (23rd, 24:23.8) and Cruz Gomez (25th, 24:35.7) rounded out the top five for Texas.
"Sam and John ran very smart races," Texas men's distance coach, Pete Wilson, said.
"John took a very hard fall at 4k and got back to his feet and made his way back to the lead pack. That is Texas Fight right there. Sam mixed it up with some of the best guys in the country, and he showed great composure and patience on the course. A fourth-place individual finish was exactly what we needed.
"Haftu, as a true freshman finishing 13th, made a very nice debut. He made a few little mistakes out there being a little impatient and we will get that fixed for regionals.
"We struggled with our fourth and fifth being too far back today, and that ultimately cost us a chance to finish second. For a team counting on three true freshmen in the top five at the Big 12, I feel like we competed well, although we came up short of the goal of a Big 12 title. But we are closing the gap."
The Longhorns return to action in two weeks when they travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Nov. 16.
Players Mentioned
