Friday, October 28
Oxford, Miss.
10:00 AM
Texas A&M
at
SEC Championships
Photo by: Aiden Shertzer/Texas A&M Athletics
Casarez Earns All-SEC Honors While Aggie Men Finish Fifth, Women Eighth at SEC Championships
Oct 28, 2022 | Cross Country
OXFORD, Miss. – Eric Casarez's eighth-place individual finish led the Texas A&M men's team to a fifth-place finish, while the women's team finished eighth at the Southeastern Conference Championships on Friday morning at the Ole Miss Golf Course.
Casarez covered the 8k course in 23:21.36 on his way to All-SEC second team honors. With his eighth-place run, Casarez had the highest SEC Championships finish of his career; he finished 25th in 2021, 36th in 2020 and 15th in 2019. After Casarez, Francesco Romano (22nd, 24:00.39), Chandon Chhikara (23rd, 24:02.85), Gavin Hoffpauir (34th, 24:24.07) and Jonathan Chung (41st, 24:33.13) led the Aggie men to their highest finish at the SEC Championship meet since 2019, when they also placed fifth.
"Eric has had a couple tough SEC races prior to this one," head coach Pat Henry said. "It's great to see Eric do what he did here today. That's a big time finish. This is a great conference and to be in that top group is a great run for him. Our men finished fifth today, that's a big run from them. We have a competitive group of guys and it'll be fun to see them continue to improve."
The women were led by Julia Abell, who crossed the line in 25th at the end of the 6k race, stopping the clock at 20:33.67. Behind Abell, Abbey Santoro ran 20:50.39 to earn 34th place. Maddie Livingston (21:09.61) and Grace Plain (21:10.97) ran down the homestretch together, placing 49th and 51st, respectively. Deirdre Nelsen was the final scorer for the Aggies, clocking 21:18.52 to finish 61st.
The Aggie women finished eighth, their highest team place at the SEC Championships since 2017.
"I thought the women competed really well," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "Julia Abell and Abbey Santoro had their best SEC finishes ever. We can be excited about the progress we're making as a team. We're headed in the right direction. We've got more ahead of us; we'll keep working and be a little bit better two weeks from now at the regional meet."
Next Up
The Aggie men's and women's cross country teams will host the South Central Regional meet at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course on November 11.
Quotes
Distance Coach Wendel McRaven
On the team's performance...
"Our men put themselves in position to be better than fifth, but realistically we knew that there were 4 good teams ahead of us. So, fifth is where we thought we could be if we ran like we should. We wanted to get out aggressively and put ourselves in a position to do better than that, but I'm pleased with how they finished. It was a good effort on the men's side. Women's side, we're heading back in the right direction. I thought the women competed well. We can be excited about the progress we're making as a team. We're headed in the right direction. We've got more ahead of us; we'll keep working and be a little bit better two weeks from now at the regional meet. We're never going to do backflips after getting fifth and eighth, but we can be excited about the progression and the progress we're making individually and as a team."
On Eric Casarez's Performance…
"I'm pleased with Eric's race, the way that he put himself up there early on and make the other guys work a little bit. He finished eighth, his best SEC finish ever, and earned all-SEC honors. He is looking good heading into the rest of the post season."
On Traveling Aggies…
"Everywhere I've coached, there are always a handful of parents and fans that travel, but Aggies take it to a whole new level. The amount of people that follow and support us is cool to see. It's what sets Aggies apart from other places."
Head Coach Pat Henry
On the Team's Performance…
"Eric has had a couple tough SEC races prior to this one. It's great to see Eric do what he did here today. That's a big time finish. This is a great conference and to be in that top group is a great run for him. Our men finished fifth today, that's a big run from them. We have a competitive group of guys and it'll be fun to see them continue to improve. And the women, we just have to keep getting better. The ladies had a good showing today. I thought Julia looked good with the best run she's ever had here at the SEC meet. We have to be pleased with today. For Texas A&M cross country and Coach McRaven, this was a very successful day."
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggietfxc).
Casarez covered the 8k course in 23:21.36 on his way to All-SEC second team honors. With his eighth-place run, Casarez had the highest SEC Championships finish of his career; he finished 25th in 2021, 36th in 2020 and 15th in 2019. After Casarez, Francesco Romano (22nd, 24:00.39), Chandon Chhikara (23rd, 24:02.85), Gavin Hoffpauir (34th, 24:24.07) and Jonathan Chung (41st, 24:33.13) led the Aggie men to their highest finish at the SEC Championship meet since 2019, when they also placed fifth.
"Eric has had a couple tough SEC races prior to this one," head coach Pat Henry said. "It's great to see Eric do what he did here today. That's a big time finish. This is a great conference and to be in that top group is a great run for him. Our men finished fifth today, that's a big run from them. We have a competitive group of guys and it'll be fun to see them continue to improve."
The women were led by Julia Abell, who crossed the line in 25th at the end of the 6k race, stopping the clock at 20:33.67. Behind Abell, Abbey Santoro ran 20:50.39 to earn 34th place. Maddie Livingston (21:09.61) and Grace Plain (21:10.97) ran down the homestretch together, placing 49th and 51st, respectively. Deirdre Nelsen was the final scorer for the Aggies, clocking 21:18.52 to finish 61st.
The Aggie women finished eighth, their highest team place at the SEC Championships since 2017.
"I thought the women competed really well," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "Julia Abell and Abbey Santoro had their best SEC finishes ever. We can be excited about the progress we're making as a team. We're headed in the right direction. We've got more ahead of us; we'll keep working and be a little bit better two weeks from now at the regional meet."
Next Up
The Aggie men's and women's cross country teams will host the South Central Regional meet at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course on November 11.
Quotes
Distance Coach Wendel McRaven
On the team's performance...
"Our men put themselves in position to be better than fifth, but realistically we knew that there were 4 good teams ahead of us. So, fifth is where we thought we could be if we ran like we should. We wanted to get out aggressively and put ourselves in a position to do better than that, but I'm pleased with how they finished. It was a good effort on the men's side. Women's side, we're heading back in the right direction. I thought the women competed well. We can be excited about the progress we're making as a team. We're headed in the right direction. We've got more ahead of us; we'll keep working and be a little bit better two weeks from now at the regional meet. We're never going to do backflips after getting fifth and eighth, but we can be excited about the progression and the progress we're making individually and as a team."
On Eric Casarez's Performance…
"I'm pleased with Eric's race, the way that he put himself up there early on and make the other guys work a little bit. He finished eighth, his best SEC finish ever, and earned all-SEC honors. He is looking good heading into the rest of the post season."
On Traveling Aggies…
"Everywhere I've coached, there are always a handful of parents and fans that travel, but Aggies take it to a whole new level. The amount of people that follow and support us is cool to see. It's what sets Aggies apart from other places."
Head Coach Pat Henry
On the Team's Performance…
"Eric has had a couple tough SEC races prior to this one. It's great to see Eric do what he did here today. That's a big time finish. This is a great conference and to be in that top group is a great run for him. Our men finished fifth today, that's a big run from them. We have a competitive group of guys and it'll be fun to see them continue to improve. And the women, we just have to keep getting better. The ladies had a good showing today. I thought Julia looked good with the best run she's ever had here at the SEC meet. We have to be pleased with today. For Texas A&M cross country and Coach McRaven, this was a very successful day."
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggietfxc).
SEC Championships Preview: Wendel McRaven
Monday, October 28
NCAA Championships Preview: Wendel McRaven
Tuesday, November 14
NCAA Regional Preview: Wendel McRaven
Monday, November 06
SEC Preview Press Conference: Wendel McRaven
Monday, October 23
