Texas A&M cross country traveled to Fayetteville, Ark. for the NCAA South Central Region meet, hunting for their tenth consecutive NCAA championship berth.
The powerhouse host, Arkansas, has not slowed down from previous years, claiming men’s and women’s team titles for the second consecutive season.
A&M’s men were able to claim seventh in their 10,000-meter race with 177 points. Senior Isaac Spencer was unable to bounce back from his under-par SEC Championship performance, finishing 27^th overall between senior Ryan Miller and sophomore Austin Wells. Miller was the first of the Aggies, posting a time of 30:27.1. Spencer was right on his heels (30:27.5) followed closely by Wells (30:28.3). Spencer claimed a championship berth in 2013, but fell short this season.
The Aggie women took sixth in the 6,000-meter race with 176 points. The power-trio brought in another impressive performance, finishing eighth, ninth, and tenth overall. Senior Hillary Montgomery crossed the line first with a time of 20:17.2, on her tail was senior Grace Fletcher (20:19.6) and sophomore Karis Jochen (20:31.4).
During the team events, the Aggies stuck together, which is something that head coach Sendel McRaven has been stressing to his team all year. Both the men’s and the women’s top three finishers crossed the line unseparated by other teams.
The top four finishers of each race who are not members of the top two finishing teams are automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships. Individuals are then selected to advance based on performance.
The women trio’s seniors, Montgomery and Fletcher were each able to clinch a championship berth. The runners will travel to Terre Haute, Ind. next weekend. This is Montgomery’s second consecutive season to qualify for the NCAA Championship race, and Texas A&M’s tenth consecutive year to send a team or individual runner to the championship.