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Sept. 16, 2017
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (Sept. 16, 2017) -- The starter's gun at 8 a.m. finally signaled the official start of the UTA cross country season on Saturday, as the Mavericks hosted the annual Gerald Richey UTA Invitational at Lynn Creek Park. It was the Mavs' latest start to a season in several years.
The men, ranked third in the NCAA South Central Regional rankings, grabbed the top six individual places in the race to lead the team competition. The women finished behind SMU, which is also ranked third in the South Central Region. SMU finished with 15 points, while UTA totaled 42.
"It was a good first meet. We have an opportunity now to get it going," UTA coach John Sauerhage said. "We needed some competition. We've been training for three weeks and even though it was a relatively small meet, it was a good opportunity for our guys and gals both to get used to race pace and get the feel of competition. Nothing's better than competition."
Tori Shelton started her final season in Arlington as the first finisher on the women's side. The team's top runner a year ago placed sixth overall with a time of 18:49.9.
"It was actually a lot of fun," Shelton said. "I went out with the intentions of just trying to get my feet under me and having a good time. I think we're all happy with how we did. We really weren't worried about the other teams, but I think compared to last year, we've really developed a lot. This being our first meet was a really good confidence boost."
Astrid Rosvall was one spot behind her, finishing seventh, with a clocking of 19:02.4. It was Rosvall's first collegiate cross country meet after beginning her UTA career in January with the indoor track season.
Macey Beazley (eighth) was the third UTA woman to cross the line with a time of 19:16.1, while Bailey Balmer placed 10th in 19:48.2. Erin Derden was the final point scorer for the Mavericks. She came in 13th in 20:12.8.
For the men, Justin Domangue was the race winner. He completed the layout with a clocking of 15:18.5, finishing three seconds ahead of Joel Duren (15:21.3).
"I tried not to get passed up, even though it was my teammates, and I just tried to run a good time," Domangue said. "Even though my feet were burning, I just kept fighting through it. I just knew what I had to do to finish."
Junior transfer Brady Steele claimed the bronze position in his first meet with the Mavericks, as he was clocked at 15:34.1. Tyler Forde (15:42.0) and Cole Klashinsky (15:47.4) rounded out the top five for UTA. The Mavericks' four freshmen all competed as unattached runners at the meet.
Following the university races, high school boys and girls races were contested. The course is the same layout that teams will race at the UIL Regional Championships next month (Oct. 23).
Next week, the Mavs will head to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational. The College Station course is the site of the NCAA South Central Regional in November.
"We got one under our belts," Sauerhage said. "We know what to expect a little more. We made some progress to get ready for next week."
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