Saturday, September 26
Stillwater, Okla.
8:15 a.m.
Abilene Christian
at
Cowboy Jamboree
Photo by: Luke White
ACU XC Gains Valuable Experience at the Cowboy Jamboree
9/26/2026 8:04:00 PM | Cross Country
After waiting out a rain/lightning delay of over an hour, the ACU cross country teams had the experience of competing in a light rain at the 88th running of Oklahoma State's Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday morning.
On the men's side, ACU as led by Mark Barajas, who finished 47rd in a field of 215 runners with a time of 25:17.1 on the 8k course. He was followed by Vincent Luffey (96th in a time of 26:02.4); Matthew Engle (122nd in a time of 26:26.9); Benjamin Castro (145th in a time of 27:03.8); Austin Roberts (172nd in a time of 27:53.7); and Evan Martin (194th in a time of 28:48.6).
In the team race, the Wildcat men finished in 15th place, 4 spots behind fellow UAC member Central Arkansas, but ahead of Tarleton State, who was in 16th. There was a big upset at the top of the men's scoreboard, as New Mexico (ranked #2 in the nation) beat the host OSU Cowboys, who were ranked #1 in the nation coming into the Jamboree.
For the ACU women, sophomore Saylor Stevenson led the race for the Wildcats, finishing in 105th in a time of 23:19.5 over the 6K course. The other finishers for ACU were Hannah Kasper (109th in a time of 23:19); Emma Santoro (121st in a time of 24:06.6); Anna Vyn (126th in a time of 24:06.6); Sidney Windham (137th in a time of 24:44.9); and Madelyn McFadden (156th in a time of 26:15.6).
In the women's team race, ACU finished in 16th place, just a few points behind Tarleton State in 15th. Central Arkansas finished in 11th place as the other UAC team represented in Stillwater. In the team race, BYU, which is ranked #2 in the nation, took the team title ahead of the host team OSU (ranked #15 in the nation) and New Mexico (ranked #2 in the nation).
COACH SAID IT...
"Oklahoma State was an outstanding learning experience for ACU, competing on one of the most challenging courses in the country against some of the best competition in the nation. I was really pleased with our men's performance, they competed with a lot of grit and determination, and Mark Barajas had an exceptional race, finishing in the top fifty in a star-studded field.
"For our women it was a difficult day on an extremely demanding course, but I couldn't be prouder of them. The experience gave us a clear picture of where we are, what we do well, and the areas we need to continue to improve. It was humbling, but necessary, and we will take those lessons forward as we prepare for the conference championship in October."
UP NEXT
ACU will head next to College Station to run in another major invitational meet, the Arturo Barrios Invitational, which will be run on Friday, October 16.
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On the men's side, ACU as led by Mark Barajas, who finished 47rd in a field of 215 runners with a time of 25:17.1 on the 8k course. He was followed by Vincent Luffey (96th in a time of 26:02.4); Matthew Engle (122nd in a time of 26:26.9); Benjamin Castro (145th in a time of 27:03.8); Austin Roberts (172nd in a time of 27:53.7); and Evan Martin (194th in a time of 28:48.6).
In the team race, the Wildcat men finished in 15th place, 4 spots behind fellow UAC member Central Arkansas, but ahead of Tarleton State, who was in 16th. There was a big upset at the top of the men's scoreboard, as New Mexico (ranked #2 in the nation) beat the host OSU Cowboys, who were ranked #1 in the nation coming into the Jamboree.
For the ACU women, sophomore Saylor Stevenson led the race for the Wildcats, finishing in 105th in a time of 23:19.5 over the 6K course. The other finishers for ACU were Hannah Kasper (109th in a time of 23:19); Emma Santoro (121st in a time of 24:06.6); Anna Vyn (126th in a time of 24:06.6); Sidney Windham (137th in a time of 24:44.9); and Madelyn McFadden (156th in a time of 26:15.6).
In the women's team race, ACU finished in 16th place, just a few points behind Tarleton State in 15th. Central Arkansas finished in 11th place as the other UAC team represented in Stillwater. In the team race, BYU, which is ranked #2 in the nation, took the team title ahead of the host team OSU (ranked #15 in the nation) and New Mexico (ranked #2 in the nation).
COACH SAID IT...
"Oklahoma State was an outstanding learning experience for ACU, competing on one of the most challenging courses in the country against some of the best competition in the nation. I was really pleased with our men's performance, they competed with a lot of grit and determination, and Mark Barajas had an exceptional race, finishing in the top fifty in a star-studded field.
"For our women it was a difficult day on an extremely demanding course, but I couldn't be prouder of them. The experience gave us a clear picture of where we are, what we do well, and the areas we need to continue to improve. It was humbling, but necessary, and we will take those lessons forward as we prepare for the conference championship in October."
UP NEXT
ACU will head next to College Station to run in another major invitational meet, the Arturo Barrios Invitational, which will be run on Friday, October 16.
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Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Monday, September 21
Monday, September 21
Saturday, September 19
Tuesday, September 15
