No. 24 Texas men’s cross country competed in the 8K at the 2024 Cowboy Jamboree hosted in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Saturday, finishing fourth out of 17 universities in the team standings after accumulating 116 total points.
Senior Isaac Alonzo led the way for Texas, finishing in seventh individually. Alonzo, who is from Lubbock, Texas, was recognized on the All-South Central Region Team in both 2022 and 2023. He has run cross country as well as track and field in his three years as a Longhorn.
When calculating the team standings, the top five runners for each team receive the amount of points corresponding to their finishing place. In addition to Alonzo’s seven points, junior Emmanuel Sgouros (24th), senior Edward (EJ) Rush (26th), junior Hudson Heikkinen (28th) and sophomore Jack Boyd (31st) contributed to the point total for the Longhorns. The team with the lowest score wins.
Those who did not see any points for Texas were senior Nigusom Knight, sophomore Hudson Bennett, senior Logan Patete, junior Jackson Braddock and freshman Adam Burlison. All Longhorns finished in the top 75 in Stillwater.
The hosts, No. 1 Oklahoma State, saw its top five runners all finish in the top six, leading the Cowboys to a first-place finish. Sophomore Habtom Samuel of No. 8 New Mexico crossed the line second to prevent a full sweep by the Cowboys. New Mexico finished second with 45 points and No. 22 Oregon had 89 points, putting them in third.
Behind Texas, Incarnate Word finished in fifth place, their top five runners all gathering between 20 and 40 points. Oral Roberts followed behind them, propelled by sophomore Abraham Chelangam, who finished eighth overall.
The Cowboy Jamboree was Texas’ second meet of the season following a sweep in the 2024 Stormy Seas Opener 5K event back in August, holding the top-14 finishes in the race.
The Longhorns now look forward to their next meet, the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, on Oct. 19, which serves as a precursor to the Nov. 23 NCAA Cross Country National Championships. The Pre-Nationals and National Championships both will be held in Madison, Wisconsin.
Now being part of the Southeastern Conference, the team also has the SEC Cross Country Championships to prepare for on Nov. 1 in College Station, Texas. Among SEC schools, only No. 3 Arkansas and No. 9 Alabama are currently ranked above the Longhorns.
The next USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll will be released on Oct. 1. Texas was ranked No. 24 in the preseason and Week 1 polls that were released on Aug. 27 and Sept. 17.
