On Saturday, Texas women’s cross country placed sixth in the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational 6k race in Chicago, Illinois.
Coming off a 5k team win at the Chile Pepper Festival the week before, the Longhorns continue to make huge strides in their new conference.
Texas earned 169 total points and seven Longhorns contributed to the awarded team score — all but one recorded personal best times on race day.
Senior Eva Jess crossed the finish line ahead of her teammates, placing 12th overall. Jess ran a time of 19:59.99, a huge 72-second personal best, marking her third straight race running a PB.
Behind Jess was graduate student Olivia Howell finishing in the top 20. She placed 16th and ran a 20:08.0 pace. Next for Texas came junior Elizabeth Pickett in 40th running a 20:36.87 time, a 32-second PB. This was also Pickett’s third straight race running a PB this season.
In fourth for the Longhorns was graduate transfer Elizabeth Stockman, running a 20:42.67 and marking a 11-second PB. This was Stockman’s third time earning a PB since coming to Texas and she placed 46th in the race.
Freshman Sydni Wilkins came in fifth for the Longhorns and placed 56th. She ran a time of 20:51.14 in her first ever collegiate 6k race. Wilkins remains a dominant freshman for the Longhorns this season.
Junior Brighton Mooney was sixth for Texas placing 64th and ran a 21:01.2 time, a 26-second PB. Sophomore Mackenize Browne rounded out UT point scorers. Browne’s time was 21:12.42, finishing 80th and recording a huge PB of 74-seconds. Both Mooney and Browne also ran a PB in the 5k season opener in Georgetown, Texas.
The top five teams ahead of Texas were Alabama in first with 57 points, NC State in second scoring 71, Minnesota in third with 116, Louisville fourth earning 121 and Toledo in fifth with a score of 131.
Setting new PBs proves that the Longhorns have what it takes to be a dominant team, but consistently need individuals to finish higher in the ranks to get there. With both the NCAA South Central Regionals and Cross Country Championships coming up in November, Texas is still making big strides of improvement.
The Longhorns travel to Wisconsin on Oct. 19 for Pre-Nationals. Texas hopes to continue building off individual PBs as they prepare for their first time competing in the SEC Cross Country Championships on Nov. 1.
