COLUMBIA, Mo. – After kicking off the 2026 season at the beginning of the month, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cross country team finally hits the course once again on Friday, traveling north to the University of Missouri to take part in the prestigious Gans Creek Classic.
The Islanders will compete in both the men's and women's Gold Invitational races at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course, with the latter getting the day started with the 6k at 8 AM and the former following right after with the 8k at 8:45 AM. They will be running against a stacked field of teams on both sides, which includes power conference opponents such as Arkansas, Kansas, Tennessee and the host Tigers, among many others.
"We are really looking forward to Friday morning!" Islanders head coach
Bryan Jackson said. "We will get a nearly complete look at our team against some stiff competition, including six SEC teams. They have been training very well over the last few weeks, and I know we are ready."
A&M-Corpus Christi was last in action on September 4 at the Aggie Opener in College Station, finishing in third place as a team on the men's side and fourth place on the women's. The biggest story coming out of that event was the performance of freshman
Caroline Yegon, who secured the individual win in the two mile among a field of 47 competitors after finishing with a time of 10:46.7. The victory made her the first Islander to win their first collegiate race since teammate
Elizabeth Khatevi did so in 2024, and her performance earned her the first Southland Conference Women's Performer of the Week for the new season.
The Islanders are no stranger to the Gans Creek Classic, having impressed at last year's version of the event with the women taking home second out of 27 in the 6k Black and the men finishing sixth out of 26 in the 8k Black. Khatevi will be looking to defend her individual title at the meet in her first taste of action of the year, as in 2025, she emerged at the top of a 236-person field with a time of 19:58.8 that came in nearly 16 seconds ahead of the next-best finisher. For the men, the best returning finisher from last year's Gans Creek Classic is
Dominic Kiptum, who placed 39
th overall out of more than 250.
The Gans Creek Classic will be streamed live on SEC Network+, and the live results can be followed along on PrimeTime Timing.
Meet 2 // A&M-Corpus Christi at Gans Creek Classic
Date: Friday, September 25
Time: 8 a.m. CT (women) // 8:45 a.m. CT (men)
Location: Gans Creek Cross Country Course // Columbia, Missouri
Watch Live
Live Results
Socials:
@IslandersTFXC (IG) //
@IslandersTFXC (X)
#ShakasUp
