Friday, October 31
Knoxville, Tenn.
9:00 AM
Texas A&M
at
SEC Championships
Photo by: Wesley Bowers/Texas A&M Athletics
Cross Country Opens Postseason at SEC Championships
Oct 29, 2025 | Cross Country
KNOXVILLE – The Texas A&M cross country team opens its postseason campaign Friday as it heads to the SEC Championships in Tennessee held at the Cherokee Farm Cross Country Course. The men's 8k will begin at 9:08 a.m., followed by the women's 6k at 9:53 a.m.
"The exciting thing is on both sides we've got quite possibly the two best teams we've ever had," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "The men have been a little bit of a surprise, and we didn't know Cooper Cawthra would be running with us at the beginning of the year and they've continued to get a little better every single meet. The women have got good firepower, good depth and are trending in the right direction."
Looking back at the regular season, the Maroon & White opened their campaign with a pair of title sweeps at the John McKenzie Invitational and Texas A&M Invitational. The Aggies continued their impressive start at the Paul Short Run, securing two top four finishes with the men placing third and the women fourth. Last time out on the course, the Aggie men dominated the Arturo Barrios Invitational claiming the title for the first time since 2022, as the women delivered a third-place finish which was their best result in meet history.
Cawthra has led the men at three of the four meets this season, with his highlights being the individual title at the Texas A&M Invitational and breaking the school record around the Watts cross country course 8k circuit at the Arturo Barrios Invitational crossing the line 22:58.6. On the women's side, Megan Roberts claimed the lone individual crown of the season at the John McKenzie Invitational and topped the group at the Paul Short Run, while Sophia Bendet and Debora Cherono were the top Aggie finishers at the Texas A&M Invitational and Arturo Barrios Invitational, respectively.
"It's not like it used to be in the SEC where there were only a couple of nationally ranked teams," McRaven continued. "There's a whole bunch of nationally ranked programs and it's been trending that way for a few years and I think we're going to see it continue to happen."
All 16 schools in the conference will take the course this year, besides South Carolina and Mississippi State on the men's side. The SEC currently holds five spots on both the men's and women's sides of the national rankings. Alabama leads the way for the men in eighth, followed by No. 20 Georgia, No. 22 Missouri, No. 26 Ole Miss and No. 29 Oklahoma, the Aggie men are just on the outside of the ranks as the top receiving vote program. On the women's side Florida paces the group in third, followed by No. 20 South Carolina, No. 23 Missouri, No. 25 Alabama and No. 27 Tennessee.
Fans can watch the meet on the SEC Network, or follow along through Athletic Live.
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, head to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
"The exciting thing is on both sides we've got quite possibly the two best teams we've ever had," distance coach Wendel McRaven said. "The men have been a little bit of a surprise, and we didn't know Cooper Cawthra would be running with us at the beginning of the year and they've continued to get a little better every single meet. The women have got good firepower, good depth and are trending in the right direction."
Looking back at the regular season, the Maroon & White opened their campaign with a pair of title sweeps at the John McKenzie Invitational and Texas A&M Invitational. The Aggies continued their impressive start at the Paul Short Run, securing two top four finishes with the men placing third and the women fourth. Last time out on the course, the Aggie men dominated the Arturo Barrios Invitational claiming the title for the first time since 2022, as the women delivered a third-place finish which was their best result in meet history.
Cawthra has led the men at three of the four meets this season, with his highlights being the individual title at the Texas A&M Invitational and breaking the school record around the Watts cross country course 8k circuit at the Arturo Barrios Invitational crossing the line 22:58.6. On the women's side, Megan Roberts claimed the lone individual crown of the season at the John McKenzie Invitational and topped the group at the Paul Short Run, while Sophia Bendet and Debora Cherono were the top Aggie finishers at the Texas A&M Invitational and Arturo Barrios Invitational, respectively.
"It's not like it used to be in the SEC where there were only a couple of nationally ranked teams," McRaven continued. "There's a whole bunch of nationally ranked programs and it's been trending that way for a few years and I think we're going to see it continue to happen."
All 16 schools in the conference will take the course this year, besides South Carolina and Mississippi State on the men's side. The SEC currently holds five spots on both the men's and women's sides of the national rankings. Alabama leads the way for the men in eighth, followed by No. 20 Georgia, No. 22 Missouri, No. 26 Ole Miss and No. 29 Oklahoma, the Aggie men are just on the outside of the ranks as the top receiving vote program. On the women's side Florida paces the group in third, followed by No. 20 South Carolina, No. 23 Missouri, No. 25 Alabama and No. 27 Tennessee.
Fans can watch the meet on the SEC Network, or follow along through Athletic Live.
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, head to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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