The Longhorns had a great showing, sweeping the competition at the Tornado Watch Invitational held this Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, Texas. 

Junior Yaseen Abdalla won the men’s 5K with a speedy time of 14:56.4, leading the team to take the top seven finishes overall.With an average mile time of 4:49.2, many more wins are  expected this season from the distance runner.

Junior Haftu Knight finished just over three seconds behind Abdalla with a time of 14:59.6. Trailing him were sophomores Rodger Rivera, Sam Bass and Abraham Avila-Martinez, respectively. 

Senior Brendan Hebert came in sixth place at the 5K with a time of 15:25.3. Closing the pack was freshman Edwin Gomez.   

With an average time of 15:06, the men’s team was able to earn 15 points.

On the women’s side, freshman Eva Jess won the 5K with a time of 18:12.2, also followed by six Longhorns claiming the top spots. 

With an average mile time of 5:52.3, Jess opened up her collegiate career with a win. An exciting future awaits the young distance runner.

Junior Aaliya Fazel came in second with a time of 18:27.2, followed by senior Monica Hebner at 18:33.4. 

Junior Alexa Rodriguez and sophomore Maddie Hatfield came in fourth and fifth with junior Alyssa Duhart and freshman Allyson Little placing sixth and seventh.

With an average time of 18:30, the women’s team was also able to bring in 15 points.

Up next for the Longhorn cross-country team is the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Sept. 18, 2021.