COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The ACU cross country team ran well at the Arturo Barrios Invitational in the final meet before the WAC Championship, as the men finished in 11
th (after a 27
th place finish in this same race last year).
The men's race was won by host Texas A&M, followed by Middle Tennessee State, Stephen F. Austin, Ohio State, and Texas Tech. The ACU women also showed improvement over last year, as they finish in 27
th place, after a 35
th place finish in 2024. The women's race was won by Wake Forest, with LSU, host Texas A&M, SMU, and SFA rounding out the top 5 teams. The ACU women also finished ahead of Tarleton State in the race.
With the ACU men vying to move up from their #13 spot in the South Central Regional rankings, finishing ahead of Arkansas State, Rice, and LSU – all ranked ahead of ACU in the poll – should have a positive impact on the region rankings. The ACU men also finished ahead of the other two WAC schools in the field – Tarleton and UT Arlington. In another race note, ACU improved in the team race at each split in the race – 17
th at the 2K split, 15
th at the 4K split; and 13
th at the 6.9K split, before their 11
th place final finish.
Andruw Villa led the way in 27
th place with a time of 23:42 over the 8-kilometer race. He was followed by
Carlos Cortez (65
th with a personal best time of 24:18);
Kevin Castruita (66
th with an identical PB time of 24:18);
Mark Barajas (102
nd with a PB time of 24:39);
Vincent Luffey (140
th with a time of 25:02);
Benjamin Castro (153
rd with a time of 25:13);
Austin Roberts (158
th with a PB time of 25:17); and
Mikhail Fortner (164
th with a time of 25:22).
The ACU women were again led by grad transfer
Chloe McLellan, who ran a big PB time of 21:21 – a full minute faster than she ran during her undergraduate career at McMurry – as she finished in 71
st. Freshman Saylor finished in 188
th with a time of 22:50 in her first race at the 6K distance;
Audrey Chitwood ran a 23:02 to finish in 202
nd;
Hadley Phillips finished in 204
th with a PB time of 23:08;
Hannah Kasper in 215
th running a time of 23:20;
Madison Anderson in 227
th in her first race at the distance with a time of 23:20;
Kate Williams, in 254
th with a time of 24:09; and
Alyssa Quinones finishing in 258
th with a time of 24:19.
The Wildcats run in the final WAC Cross Country Championship in on Friday, Oct. 31, at the Harry Patterson Athletic Complex in Arlington, hosted by UTA.
Coach
Nathan Meeuwenberg on the women's team:
"This is another good step forward for the team. By the time the women started their race, the humidity and heat were a factor. Chloe McClellan has continued a really good final campaign. Audrey Chitwood ran her best race since coming back from a stress fracture. Saylor Stevenson is running like a veteran and Hadley Phillips continues to be a consistent presence in the middle of the lineup. This team is a sneaky good team if we can continue to take the next step in 2 weeks!"
Coach M on the men's team:
"Another successful step towards running a complete race for the men. We've kept our eye on the end of the season all year long making sure we are ready to run our best at the championships. Love how the men have bought into that vision and are ready to run their best races when it matters most!"
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