The strong field of athletes present at the Mt. SAC Relays was too much for the Longhorn distance runners Thursday.

Only three athletes competed in the first day of the meet, hosted by Mt. San Antonio College, and the group of runners that dominated the Texas Relays found it difficult to do the same in Walnut, Calif. 

Senior Rory Tunningley set a 29:30.36 personal record in the 10,000-meter invitational elite run, but his new best was not enough, as he ended the race in 14th place.

Brady Turnbull wound up in 16th in the 1,500-meter open division. Teammate Patrick McGregor, who was scheduled to compete along with Turnbull, scratched the event. 

Texas’ last competitor of the day, sophomore Mark Pinales, finished in 18th in 10,000-meter run Olympic development field.

The Longhorns will resume action tomorrow with five runners competing in the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter run. Following that, Texas will continue its season at home as Mike A. Myers Stadium opens its gates for the Longhorn Invitational on Saturday.