CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Starting off the season in the sand, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's cross country teams hosted the Opener at the Seashore Friday morning and got off on the right foot at the National Seashore.
In similar fashion to last season, sophomore
Mathayo Kiptoo Bundotich won his race in the men's 6k with a 19:32.87 team as A&M-Corpus Christi's top five times crossed first consecutively going head-to-head with UTRGV.
Bundotich's time ranks him sixth all-time in the program record book for the men's 6k.
Newcomer
Landon Blankenship crossed second, clocking a 19:42.19 time. Senior
Emil Hajjaj followed with a 19:44.58 time in the third place, while newcomers
Ewan Wheelwright and
Diego Canto rounded out the top-five to secure the perfect score, with UTRGV's first runner not crossing the finish until after the 20-minute mark.
The women also raced against UTRGV as well as highly regionally ranked SMU. Freshman
Alicia Finnis was the Islanders' top finisher in her collegiate debut, finishing third in the women's 4k with a 14:26.55 time.
She makes a mark already on the program, as her time in the women's 4k ranks her seventh all-time in school history.
Sophomore
Deandra Ibarra ran a ninth-place finish in the opener with a 15:20.38 while newcomer
Micah Mizell closed out the top-10 clocking a 15:22.39 as the women's top-three finishers.
The Islanders will get continue the season on Sept. 13 when they head up to compete in the Rice Invite.
Men's Top-5 Times
1. A&M-Corpus Christi: 1:38:56.47
2. UTRGV: 1:47:12.78
Men's Individual Times
1. Mathayo Bundotich, 19:32.87
2.
Landon Blankenship, 19:42.19
3.
Emil Hajjaj, 19:44.58
4.
Ewan Wheelwright, 19:50.21
5. (DNS)
Rogerio Gomez, 19:59.79
6.
Diego Canto, 20:06.62
9.
Andrew Rivas, 20:43.69
10.
Enock Kimutai, 20:43.69
11. Dorian Majorga Holloway, 21:07.48
12. Phillip Jensen e Castro, 21:16.31
13.
Gregorio Alcorta, 21:17.40
14. Mikey Rodriguez, 21:36.70
Women's Top-5 Times
1. SMU: 1:13:18.41
2. A&M-Corpus Christi: 1:16:29.52
3. UTRGV: 1:20:45.34
Women's Individual Times
3.
Alicia Finnis, 14:26.55
9.
Deandra Ibarra, 15:20.38
10.
Micah Mizell, 15:22.39
12.
Kate Brockman, 15:29.73
14.
Neele Heyne, 15:50.47
22.
Julie Cernoch, 17:28.33
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