After the women took top honors and the men placed second in the season opener at Oklahoma State, Texas A&M cross country will host the Texas A&M Invitational Friday at the Watts Cross Country Course in College Station.

The men are scheduled for an 8 a.m. start for the 8K while the women, who will run the 5K circuit, are scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m.

Joining the Aggies at the Invitational are 14 teams including Baylor, Blinn College, Houston, Louisiana, North Texas, Oklahoma, Sam Houston State, SMU, St. Edwards, A&M-Commerce, Tarleton State, TCU, Tulane and UT-Tyler.

“The home opener is always exciting,” distance coach Wendel McRaven said. “It’s great for our team to get the opportunity to race in front of their family, friends and local fans. This is another chance for us to continue to see the kind of team we are going to be.”

The Aggies swept the team titles and dominated at home during last year’s Invitational. Returning for the women is senior Maddie Livingston, the top 2023 finisher, and junior Kennady Fontenot and sophomore Shewaye Johnson, who were both top-10 point scorers last year. For the men, senior Cooper Cawthra will defend his title.

The women are off to a hot start in 2024, taking the team title at the Cowboy Preview on Aug. 30, including freshman San Juanita Leal’s debut run and a first-place finish for the Aggies. The women had five top-15 finishers. The squad is coming off a second place finish in the 2023 NCAA Regionals and finished 30th at the 2023 NCAA Championship — the first time the women have qualified for nationals in 23 years.

The men placed second in Stillwater, Oklahoma with three top-15 finishers. Friday’s meet will include familiar names including South Central All-Region honors winner senior Jonathan Chung and sophomore Jack Johnston — one of the top-15 finishers at the Cowboy Preview. The men finished fourth at the 2023 SEC Championship, their best performance since 2015.

Olivia Biggs is a general studies junior and contributed this article from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.