LUBBOCK, TEXAS. – No. 8 West Texas A&M Men's Cross Country opened their season down in Lubbock, Texas Friday morning as they took first in the Texas Tech Open.  Meshack Keter paced the Buffaloes with a second-place finish to help secure the victory.
 
WT would accumulate 43 points to take the top spot in Lubbock as six Buffs finished in the top 16. Rounding out the top five would be Odessa (74), No. 12 Fort Lewis (78), New Mexico JC (115), and No. 13 Colorado Christian (120)
 
Keter led the charge for West Texas A&M as a time of 23:52.7 was good for a second-place finish. He was four seconds from first as Titus Kimaru of Texas Tech claimed gold. Merlijn Van der Velden was the next highest finisher as a 24:58.2 time finished him seventh. Miles Cox was the third Buffalo to score points as he ran a 25:02.1 to take ninth. Vivien Delin (25:11.4) and Tommaso Toppi (25:12.4) finished back-to-back with a 12th and 13th place respectively to round out the scoring for WT.
 
No. 8 West Texas A&M at Texas Tech Open (8K)
September 18th, 2026 | 8:15 a.m. | Lubbock, Texas | LCU Cross Country Course
 
Team Score: 1st of 19 teams (43 points)
 
2. Meshack Keter- 23.52.7
7. Merlijn Van der Velden- 24:58.2
9. Miles Cox- 25:02.1
12. Vivien Delin- 25:11.4
13. Tommaso Toppi- 25:12.0
16. Luca Minale- 25:22.9
37. Adrian Solis- 26:16.2
48. Achille Bazantay- 26:34.7
81. Kaden Jenkins- 27:46.6
111. Jordan Purcell- 28:32.9
151. Lord Odonkor- 31:05.6
171. Kyle Richard- 33:23.5
 
Buffalo Bits

• Nine different Buffs made their debut in the maroon and white including Meshack Keter, Merlijn Van der Velden, Miles Cox, Vivien Delin, Luca Minale, Achille Bazantay, Kaden Jenkins, Lord Odonkor, and Kyle Richard.
• Keter, Van der Velden, Delin, Bazantay, Jenkins, and Richard all posted PR's in the event.

 
Up Next
West Texas A&M will be back in action on Saturday, October 3 as they travel to Louisville, Kentucky to compete in the Louisville Classic.
 
For all the latest on West Texas A&M Cross Country, stay tuned to gobuffsgo.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.