ARLINGTON, Texas – The UTA men's and women's cross country teams will open their promising 2019 seasons Friday night at the Baylor Bear Twilight Invite in Waco.
 
The Maverick men have one team goal in mind, looking to defend their Sun Belt Conference title. The Mavs have won four of the six league championships (2013, 2015, 2016, 2018) since joining the league and have finished no worse than third in any of those six seasons.
 
The men's team returns senior Justin Domangue, who was a first-team All-SBC performer after placing fourth at the conference meet. In addition, he grabbed All-South Central Region honors a year ago when he matched a school record with an eighth-place finish. Domangue also earned a berth into the NCAA Cross Country Championships, as he became just the sixth UTA male ever to participate at the national meet.
 
In addition, the Mavs also return two other point scorers from last year's league championship squad. That duo includes sophomore Jared Lautenslager, who was a second-team all-conference performer as a freshman (10th place), and junior Cole Klashinsky, who narrowly missed all-league honors after taking 18th at the SBC meet.
 
Eliseo Rodriguez and Connor Butterfield also were among the top seven who participated at the 2018 conference championships.
 
Meanwhile, a pair of returnees will be tasked with heading up the women's squad, which hopes to contend for its first Sun Belt title since 2014. Sophomore Valeria Diaz, who led the team in five of the six meets during her first year in back. So is Madeleine Rowe, who was the top performer at the SBC meet after missing all of the regular season due to injury.
 
The Mavericks have bolstered their lineups with a number of heralded freshmen. There are six newcomers on the women's side and nine on the men's team. Chantal Van Der Westhuizen is UTA's only other women's runner with Division I experience.
 
"We are extremely excited about the season," coach John Sauerhage said. "Our men are eager to have the opportunity to defend their title, while the women have worked really hard and can make huge strides this year as we look to return to the top of the league again."
 
Friday's meet at the Heart of Texas Soccer Complex will begin at 7 p.m. with the women's 4k race. The men's 6k event will take place immediately following.
 
It is the first of four regular season meets in the state of Texas for UTA. The Mavericks will host the Gerald Richey Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 14.
 
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