The Blinn College men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Texas A&M Invitational on Friday at the Dale Watts '71 Cross Country Course in College Station, Texas, with the men placing eighth among 14 schools and the women finishing 13th.
The Buccaneers' men's team finished ahead of three NCAA Division I programs — the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Sam Houston State University and Prairie View A&M University — while all seven of Blinn's top runners finished within 36.5 seconds of one another in the 8-kilometer race.
The Bucs steadily moved up the team standings throughout the race. Blinn was 11th at the 2,000-meter split, moved into ninth at 5,700 meters, and finished eighth.
"We ran very well as a pack, having all of our top seven finish within 35 seconds of each other," Blinn head coach Jesse Parker said. "We knew our depth was very good compared to most of the other teams that were here, and we did a very good job of racing into our strength."
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Sophomore Gage Horejsi led the Bucs, finishing 46th among 140 runners in 25 minutes, 55.7 seconds. He moved up 17 positions over the final 6K after sitting in 63rd at the 2,000-meter split.
"I knew that I had it in me to race well, and I knew the course," Horejsi said. "The main thing on my mind was to prove it to myself after my mediocre performance last week at UIW."
Sophomore Ryan Fernandez followed in 51st place in 26:03.6, while sophomore Brandon Lopez was 57th in 26:10.2.
Freshman James Hadwin placed 64th in 26:19.3, followed by sophomore Fernando Garza in 66th at 26:21.5. Freshman Braden Greenaway finished 68th in 26:26.5, and sophomore Matthew Binkley rounded out Blinn's top seven in 72nd place in 26:32.2.
Blinn had an opportunity to overtake the University of Texas-Tyler for seventh place, while the Bucs' performance against a field featuring NCAA Division I and Division II programs provided an encouraging benchmark at this point in the season.
"Being able to go toe-to-toe with many of the NCAA D1 and NCAA D2 programs in the race was a good sign for us at this point in the year," Parker said. "I was really proud of the maturity the men showed in racing today."
On the women's side, Blinn placed 13th among 13 teams that recorded a team score in the 5K race, which featured 125 runners. Our Lady of the Lake and Baylor both started with full teams but did not have five finishers and therefore did not receive team scores.
Sophomore Rosario Botello led the Bucs, placing 94th in 20:25.3. Freshman Annie Fildes and sophomore Chloe Ross finished in succession, with Fildes taking 98th in 20:35.9 and Ross 99th in 20:42.2.
Parker said the young women's team continues to make progress, pointing to strong performances from Botello and Fildes as well as Ross' continued return to form after missing approximately a month of running because of a foot issue.
"The women are young, but continuing to grow each week," Parker said. "Rosario executed another good performance, but what was most encouraging was to have Chloe Ross running back close to her abilities."
Parker was also encouraged by Fildes' continued consistency.
"I was excited to see Annie Fildes run another good performance, and she is quickly establishing herself as a consistent and dependable competitor for us," Parker said.
Botello said the competition provided valuable experience for the young Bucs.
"Racing at A&M is tough because there is a lot of good competition," Botello said. "The women and I focused on running our race. I felt good throughout the race, but the end was tough today. I feel like I could have performed better. The team gave it their all today and we'll use this race to help us gain experience for our next race."
Both Blinn teams return to action Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Southwestern Showdown hosted by Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.
