The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Gans Creek Classic
Cross Country preview: Gans Creek Classic
09.24.2026 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns return to competition Friday on the course that will host the SEC Championship.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Men's and Women's Cross Country return to competition Friday at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri.
Cross Country at Gans Creek Classic
When: Friday, Sept. 25 | Women's 6K: 8 a.m. | Men's 8K: 8:45 a.m.
Where: Gans Creek Cross Country Course | Columbia, Missouri.
COURSE MAPS | RESULTS
Friday's races will give the Longhorns an opportunity to compete on the same course that will host the 2026 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 30. Gans Creek previously hosted the SEC Championships in 2021 and was the site of the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
The men's team enters the meet led by sophomore Aidan Torres, who has won both individual races to open the season. Torres won the Floyd Farms Invitational on Sept. 4 before taking the 8K title at the Texas A&M Invitational on Sept. 11 in 23:53.1.
Torres has earned SEC Men's Runner of the Week and USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's National Athlete of the Week honors following his performances. He is the first Longhorn to earn either weekly cross country honor.
Freshman Kai McCullough has also opened his collegiate career with a pair of top-seven finishes. He placed fourth at Floyd Farms in 16:15.9 (5K) before finishing seventh at Texas A&M in 24:18.6. McCullough earned SEC Men's Freshman of the Week honors in each of the first two weeks of the season.
Hudson Bennett, Joaquin De La Cruz, Colby Huntress and Zain Hamdani round out the Texas men's lineup.
The Texas women will compete over 6K for the first time this season after racing 5K distances at both Floyd Farms and Texas A&M. Aishling Callanan leads the Longhorns after finishing 25th at Texas A&M in 18:10.9, while Lili Denton, Emma Rodriguez-Wade and Cara Sims also recorded top-four finishes among the Longhorns.
Isabel Conde De Frankenberg, McKale Lee, Grace Kowalski, Gia Kurp, Mia Perez and Kaylin Rendon complete the women's lineup.
The Gans Creek Classic is the eighth annual running of the meet. The Gans Creek Cross Country Course opened in 2019 and has since hosted the 2021 SEC Championships, 2022 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships and 2025 NCAA Championships. Friday's competition marks the first meet at the course since last year's NCAA Championships.
