Texas women’s cross country competed in Madison, Wisconsin, at Pre-Nationals on Oct. 19 to cap off the regular season. Texas finished 18th overall in the 6K race, earning a total of 499 points with seven Longhorns contributing to the score.
Placing 18th in the race was not familiar territory for Texas as in the previous 6K race at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in Chicago, the team earned sixth overall. Earlier, at both the Stormy Seas Opener and Chile Pepper Festival, Texas brought back the first-place 5k win.
Throughout the season, multiple Longhorns recorded personal bests during the races. This showed that Texas runners were not only improving and making big strides overall but also how the team needed to be running at their peak performances to remain a top team contender.
Despite finishing outside the top ten, the Longhorns remain first in the South Central Region. In Wisconsin, the team competed head-to-head with Arkansas and Tulane and placed higher than both, keeping their No. 1 spot secure.
Graduate student Olivia Howell placed 32nd in the race and first for Texas, running a time of 20:04.0. This was Howell’s third top finish leading the Longhorns during the season, and was just two seconds off her personal best. Heading into the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Championships, Howell hopes to remain consistent in her standings through the remainder of her collegiate career.
In second place for Texas was junior Elizabeth Pickett, the only Longhorn scorer to record a personal best. She placed 56th in the race and ran a 20:17.1 time, a 19-second improvement from her time of 20:36.87. Pickett has shown dominance in every meet this season and Pre-Nationals marks her fourth straight personal best.
Senior Eva Jess came in third for the Longhorns, placing 110th overall with a time of 20:41.0. Jess has been a huge part of defining the Texas team this year after coming in first for UT at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational and setting three personal bests this season.
Next came graduate transfer Elizabeth Stockman, finishing 152nd and running a time of 21:00.5. Freshman Sydni Wilkins finished right behind her in 155th place with a 21:01.7 pace.
Texas’ final two score contributors were graduate student Kyra Pretre running 21:28.5 and junior Brighton Mooney with a time of 21:49.0. They came in 202nd and 223rd place overall in the 6K race.
Now that the regular season is over, Texas looks ahead to competing in the SEC Championships on Nov. 1 in College Station.
Since being No. 3 at the NCAA finals last year, the Longhorns look to set higher expectations as a team joining a new conference.
