Meet Results CANYON, Texas – The 13
th ranked West Texas A&M men's cross country team opened up its season on Friday evening at the annual Texas Tech Red Raider Open in Lubbock, Texas. The Buffs placed third as a team in the 8K event as they were led by senior
Brett Villarreal who placed fifth individually in the race.
Also competing at the meet this weekend was Abilene Christian, Clarendon College, Lubbock Christian, New Mexico Highlands, New Mexico Junior College, Odessa College, South Plains College and Wayland Baptist.
The Buffs finished third overall with a total of 89 points and an average time of 25:21.94. Host Texas Tech took first place honors with 31 points followed by South Pains College in second place with 54 points. Wayland Baptist took fourth place with 129 points while New Mexico Highlands finished fifth with 143 total points to round out the top five. Fellow Lone Star Conference foe Angelo State came in sixth place with 147 points.
"This was a good first test," noted head coach
Darren Flowers. "I feel good about where we are right now. It's still early but I think we can be a strong team when we put the full squad out there. It's great to see Brett and Michael leading the charge early on right now."
The meet took place this evening on the campus of Texas Tech and started and finished on Texas Tech's soccer field.
Villarreal lead the way Friday for the Buffs in fifth place overall with a time of 24:37.15. Junior
Michael Barnett also had a very strong race for WT as he finished 13
th, crossing the line at 25:02.44. Finishing third for the Buffs was junior
Zach Daniel with a time of 25:37.41 in 28
th place, followed by junior
Armando Rueda (30
th, 25:38.66), sophomore
Evans Langat (35
th, 25:54.03) and sophomore
Steve Lagat (42
nd, 26:08.41).
The Buffs are coming off their most successful season in school history as they won their first ever LSC title in 2013, sweeping all individual and coaching awards, and made their first team appearance at the NCAA Division II National Championship where they placed 14
th in the country.
WT will return to action two weeks from today, on Friday, Sept. 26, as it holds its annual WTAMU Intrasquad Meet. The 8K race will take place at 6:30 p.m. on The Range in Canyon, Texas.
