Thursday, September 1
Stillwater, Okla.
8:00 AM
Texas A&M
at
Cowboy Preview
Grace Plain
Photo by: Aiden Shertzer/Texas A&M Athletics
Casarez, Plain Record Runner-Up Finishes at Cowboy Preview
Sep 01, 2022 | Cross Country
STILLWATER, Okla. – Texas A&M's cross country's Grace Plain second-place finish set the tone for the women's second-place team finish, while Eric Casarez runner-up performance led the men's team to a third-place finish Thursday at the Cowboy Preview.
"It's nice to come here and get out of our comfort zone," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "We usually open the season at home, so it's nice to come to a new course and run against people we usually don't see until later in the season. We knew there would be some good people here and I think we competed really well."
Plain passed 15 runners in the final 2,000 meters of the 3k course to finish with a time of 10:39.8. Abbey Santoro joined Plain in the top five with a fourth-place finish at 10:44.3, followed by Julia Abell (Black) placing ninth at 10:49.3. Maddie Livingston (10:56.93) and Mary Grace Rodriguez (11:12.12) followed finishing in the top 25 to help the women claim second place behind Arkansas.
Casarez jumped out to an early lead running with the front pack a majority of the race. Running neck and neck with Oklahoma State's Alex Stitt in the last 1,000m, it was at the finish line when Casarez was out leaned by .4 seconds to finish second with a time of 14:55.3.
Chandon Chhikara placed ninth at 15:10.3, while Victor Zuniga finished 12th with a time of 15:14.1. Tristan Galvan clocked 15:20.8 to finish 14th, while Teddy Radtke rounded out the men's team scorers in 15th lace at 15:22.9.
Next Up
The Aggies return home to the Watts Cross Country Course to host the Texas A&M Invitational on Friday, September 16.
Texas A&M Quotes
Cross Country Coach Wendel McRaven
On the men's team performance…
"We did a good job of competing against that field. There were some good teams out there. We looked like we belonged which is what we want. If we want to get to a level where we compete with the best in the country, then we have to be in these races and put ourselves in these positions."
On the women's team performance…
"We did a great job of executing the plan that we set for ourselves. It's a hilly course and even though it's only a 3k, the hills were going to make a difference. We were back a little bit at the mile, but we were able to close really well over the last third of the race to finish second. We know that the other teams aren't running everybody, and we've got some freshmen back home that will contribute to this group and hopefully make us better. But at the same time, it's nice to see our girls step up. We definitely got some confidence moving forward from today."
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, log on to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
"It's nice to come here and get out of our comfort zone," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "We usually open the season at home, so it's nice to come to a new course and run against people we usually don't see until later in the season. We knew there would be some good people here and I think we competed really well."
Plain passed 15 runners in the final 2,000 meters of the 3k course to finish with a time of 10:39.8. Abbey Santoro joined Plain in the top five with a fourth-place finish at 10:44.3, followed by Julia Abell (Black) placing ninth at 10:49.3. Maddie Livingston (10:56.93) and Mary Grace Rodriguez (11:12.12) followed finishing in the top 25 to help the women claim second place behind Arkansas.
Casarez jumped out to an early lead running with the front pack a majority of the race. Running neck and neck with Oklahoma State's Alex Stitt in the last 1,000m, it was at the finish line when Casarez was out leaned by .4 seconds to finish second with a time of 14:55.3.
Chandon Chhikara placed ninth at 15:10.3, while Victor Zuniga finished 12th with a time of 15:14.1. Tristan Galvan clocked 15:20.8 to finish 14th, while Teddy Radtke rounded out the men's team scorers in 15th lace at 15:22.9.
Next Up
The Aggies return home to the Watts Cross Country Course to host the Texas A&M Invitational on Friday, September 16.
Texas A&M Quotes
Cross Country Coach Wendel McRaven
On the men's team performance…
"We did a good job of competing against that field. There were some good teams out there. We looked like we belonged which is what we want. If we want to get to a level where we compete with the best in the country, then we have to be in these races and put ourselves in these positions."
On the women's team performance…
"We did a great job of executing the plan that we set for ourselves. It's a hilly course and even though it's only a 3k, the hills were going to make a difference. We were back a little bit at the mile, but we were able to close really well over the last third of the race to finish second. We know that the other teams aren't running everybody, and we've got some freshmen back home that will contribute to this group and hopefully make us better. But at the same time, it's nice to see our girls step up. We definitely got some confidence moving forward from today."
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, log on to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
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