Texas women’s cross country opened up its season with a win at the Stormy Seas Opener meet in Georgetown, Texas, with a score of 15 points.

Collegiate cross country works based on a points system, where the first five runners from each team to cross the finish line get awarded points corresponding to their place. The team with the lowest score wins the meet. The Longhorns decisively won first place, as the second-place team, Blinn College, finished with a score of 111 points.

The Longhorns ran a five-kilometer race, led by senior Brighton Mooney, who was Texas’ top finisher and placed second with a time of 17:41.93 minutes.

The newcomers to the team had a large impact on Texas’ win, as freshman Lily Fawcett and Mia Perez finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Fawcett barely edged out Perez, beating her by just seven seconds. Fawcett finished with a time of 18:24.18 minutes, and Perez 18:31.58 minutes.

A talented group of underclassmen will be crucial to fill the hole left by the exit of stars like Olivia Howell, Allyson Little and Eva Jess.

Sixth and seventh place were taken by senior Natasja Beijen and sophomore Isabel Conde de Frankenberg. Beijen finished with a time of 18:36.04 minutes, being beaten by Perez by just five seconds. This meet was Conde de Frankenberg’s debut for the Longhorns, as she transferred from Oregon after one season with the Ducks. She finished with a time of 18:48.88 minutes.

Two Longhorns hit their personal best time in the season opener — sophomores Kaylin Rendon and Gia Kurp. Rendon placed third with a time of 18:03.00 minutes, beating her personal best by 37 seconds. Kurp beat her personal best by 65 seconds, finishing in eighth place with a time of 18:53.30 minutes.

One Longhorn placed outside of the top eight, freshman Ava Gilley, who finished 23rd with a time of 20:41.81 minutes.

The Longhorns will compete in their second meet of the year next weekend at the University of Incarnate Word Invitational in San Antonio.