BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – After a near three-week break from competition, the UT Arlington cross country teams return to the course for the seventh annual Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M from the Watts Cross Country Course on Friday, Oct. 18.
 
The gun will sound for the men's 8k race at 8:30 a.m. CT, followed by the women's 6k race at approximately 9:15 a.m. CT.
 
This is the last regular season meet for the Mavericks before the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Cross Country Championships, which take place two weeks from the conclusion of the regular season, Nov. 1, from the campus of Utah Valley in Orem.
 
Alongside host Texas A&M, UTA will be joined by Abilene Christian, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Baylor, Boise State, Central Arkansas, Charleston Southern, Colorado (women), Delaware (women), Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, Houston, Houston Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Louisiana, McNeese State, Mercer, Middle Tennessee State, New Mexico State, New Orleans, Nicholls State, North Dakota, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Rice, Sam Houston, SMU (women), Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M – Texarkana, Tarleton State, TCU, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, Texas State, Texas Tech, UTSA, and Youngstown State.
 
Last time out, the Mavs competed in the massive Cowboy Jamboree that's hosted by Oklahoma State. UTA had a solid outing in Stillwater, with both the men's and women's teams finishing in the top 10. The women finished eighth overall with 209 points while the men finished ninth with 262 points.
 
The meet was highlighted by a top 20 finish for Matro Jepkemboi, who finished 18th overall with a time of 21:27.3, her third top 20 finish of the season. Winnie Kipsang was the other Maverick who finished inside the top 50 for the women, checking in at 43rd overall with a time of 22:35.70.
 
In a field of over 170 runners, the top five finishers for the women all placed in the top 100 for UTA. Lauren Walls-Portillo finished 61st overall with a time of 23:10.7. Freshman Emilia Mandl posted a personal best of 24:01.9 in the 6k, finishing 89th overall. Rounding out the top five finishers for the women is Kassandra Jimenez who finished 97th overall with a time of 24:18.00.
 
On the men's side, the top five finishers all placed inside the top 100 in a field of over 190 runners. The Mavs were paced by Patrick Estes who finished 53rd overall with a time of 25:27.6. Andrés Gurrola finished 66th with a time of 25:42.8. Brian Guevara placed 76th overall with a time of 25:57.1.
 
Rounding out the top five finishers for the men was Daniel Almailla who finished 82nd overall with a time of 26:06.2, followed by Rogelio Aguirre who finished 83rd with a time of 25:09.6.
   
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