The Texas A&M women’s cross country team concluded their season with a 31st place finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships held on Saturday, November 22, in Columbia, Missouri. Competing at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course, which regularly hosts events for the Missouri Tigers, Texas A&M faced tough competition from 32 different programs.
Sophomore Joyce Kemboi was the standout performer for the Aggie women, finishing 77th in the 6K race with a time of 19:44.9. Freshman Debora Cherono followed closely behind in 83rd place at 19:50.4. The remaining competitors included sophomore Megan Roberts, who ranked 170th with a time of 20:23.5, and freshmen Sophia Bendet and Ava Cole, who finished 215th and 242nd with times of 20:46.9 and 21:12.5, respectively. Senior Elise Smoot rounded out the team with a 254th place finish at 21:33.3.
In the overall team standings, A&M earned 654 points, finishing just behind Tennessee, which had 650 points. NC State claimed the national title with a score of 114 points, followed by BYU at 130 points and Oregon at 153 points. New Mexico and Florida rounded out the top five with 216 and 225 points, respectively.
Coach Wendel McRaven expressed pride in the team’s journey to the national meet, stating, “Six weeks ago, it looked like a long shot to get this women’s team to the national meet. They just kept getting better and better each week… It has been fun to watch that growth.”
For the men’s side, junior Jack Johnston was the sole Aggie representative in the 10K race, finishing 136th with a time of 29:51.2. Despite the competitive field, Johnston was only a mere 10 seconds behind runners finishing 30 spots ahead, highlighting the closeness of the race. The event saw Oklahoma State take home the championship with 57 points, well ahead of New Mexico’s 82 points and Iowa State’s 83 points. Syracuse and Oregon filled the remaining top five spots.
McRaven noted the importance of this experience for both teams, particularly for the newcomers: “We had a lot of national meet rookies out there who got a taste of competing at the national championships. Hopefully, this is experience that will pay off both next year and this coming track season.”
The Aggies capped off their season strong, with the women’s team securing first place and the men’s team taking third at the NCAA South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on November 14. Collectively, they achieved six first-place finishes and celebrated numerous personal and program records throughout the season. Looking ahead, Texas A&M will enter the indoor track season with excitement, beginning with their hosting of the McFerrin-12 Degree Invitational at the Fasken Indoor Track & Field facility on December 6.