ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington cross country teams look to build off the results from their season opener last Friday as they prepare to host the annual Gerald Richey UTA Invitational at Lynn Creek Park at Joe Pool Lake on Saturday morning.
"Tomorrow's results should give us good idea of what we need to work on moving forward," said Head Coach
John Sauerhage. "We're excited to get back out there and compete and excited for the debut of some new Mavericks!"
Matro Jepkemboi and
Winnie Kipsang will make their debuts on the women's side for UTA, and the pair are excited for their first collegiate race. "We're just ready to go out there and run and leave it all out on the course," said Kipsang. "It's very hot so that presents a challenge but staying well hydrated is key to what we believe we can do," Jepkemboi chipped in.
North Texas, TCU, SMU, Hill College, and Southwestern Assemblies of God University along with the host Mavericks will be the teams featured at the meet.
The Mavs come off the season opener where both the men and women finished third with impressive performances from newcomers as well as returners.
Mercy Biwott made her debut in the blue and orange, finishing eighth with a time of 18:01.10. Teammate
Lauren Walls-Portillo was right behind her, placing ninth with a time of 18:04.10.
Krianne McBride rounded out the top three finishers for the women, coming in 18th out of 52 runners.
Isabel Borrego and
Kassandra Jimenez also made their UTA debuts for cross country.
On the men's side,
Jackson Cichon was the top finisher for the Mavs. The junior placed sixth overall with a time of 15:07.10.
Josue Granados finished 12th with a time of 15:20.30 while
Rogelio Aguirre came in 20th with a time of 15:37.50 to round out the top three finishers for the Mavs.
Jacob Freeman made his debut for UTA.
The women will open things up at 7:30 a.m. while the men will follow at 7:45 a.m.
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