News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M cross country team returns to action Friday morning as it hosts the NCAA South Central Regional meet at the Watts Cross Country Course. The gun goes off at 9 a.m. for the women’s 6k race, followed by the men’s 10k at 10 a.m.
The Maroon & White gear up to run their final race on home soil in the 2024 season, as they welcome a stacked field to Aggieland with qualification to the NCAA Championships on the line.
History was made at last year’s meet as the women’s squad qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time as a group in 23 years after earning second place. On the men’s side, Eric Casarez placed eighth to earn an individual bid and lead the men to sixth-place finish.
Last time out at the SEC Championships, the Maroon & White secured a pair of top-ten finishes, with the men placing eighth and the women tenth.
The women started off the season with a title at the Cowboy Preview, followed by a second-place finish at the Texas A&M Invitational. At the SEC Championships, Kennady Fontenot led the Maroon & White with a 40th-place result, she was followed by Megan Roberts, Maddie Peters, Shewaye Johnson and Elise Smoot who rounded out the scorers.
The Aggie men have earned three podium finishes this season, including second at both the Cowboy Preview and the Texas A&M Invitational, and third at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Zack Munger has paced the Aggies at four meets this year, earning two individual third-place finishes. Freshman Gilbert Rono led the Aggies at the SEC Championship meet with a 30th-place finish and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. Jack Johnston, Munger, Jonathan Chung and Luca Santorum made up the remaining top-five A&M finishers at the conference meet.
A&M will be competing against 39 men’s teams and 40 women’s teams, including Abilene Christian, Arkansas State, Baylor, Grambling State, Houston Christian, Lamar, Louisiana State, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Prairie View A&M, Rice, Sam Houston State, SE Louisiana, SMU, Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, TCU, Texas Southern, Texas State, UT- Rio Grande Valley, Tulane, Little Rock, Arkansas, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Central Arkansas, Houston, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, New Orleans, North Texas, St. Thomas, UT Arlington, UT Austin, UT San Antonio, Incarnate Word and West Georgia.