COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cross country program got off and running for the 2026 season on Friday evening, competing at the Aggie Opener in College Station and punctuating a solid day with a huge individual win from freshman
Caroline Yegon in the women's two-mile race.
Yegon, making her collegiate debut after coming stateside from Kenya, emerged victorious in a field of 47 competitors after crossing the finish line with a time of 10:46.7. She settled near the top of the field early and stayed there for the remainder of the race, clocking in a pack of five at the front at the 860m mark before holding off her competition in the final straightaway, beating out a trio of Aggies athletes to secure the top spot. With the win, Yegon became the first Islander to win their debut race since teammate and compatriot
Elizabeth Khatevi did so during her freshman year at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite back on October 4, 2024.
Behind Yegon on the women's side, the Islanders got a look at the depth on their roster with Khatevi and
Phylis Kibet both on the sideline, placing 4
th overall behind power conference opponents Texas A&M, Houston and Baylor and ahead of Southland Conference rival Houston Christian and Texas Southern. The next highest placer ended up being
Embla Hreimsdottir in 15
th with a time of 11:27.9, and not far behind her was
Neele Heyne in 20
th with a time of 11:32.9. Rounding out the team's point scorers were
Abigail Kelley, who clocked in at 12:01.2 to place 30
th in her first collegiate race, and
Faith Ramos in 34
th after crossing the line in 12:27.0.
In the second race of the evening, the A&M-Corpus Christi men placed even higher against the same group of competition, coming in third by swapping places with Baylor in the order from before. This showing was led by a great individual race from
Diego Canto, who got his junior season going by placing fifth out of 43 with a time of 15:21.6. After him came a pair of Islanders back-to-back in
Dillon Smith and
Andrew Rivas, who finished 11
th and 12
th respectively with marks of 15:48.9 and 15:50.1. This would repeat again for the final points scorers, as newcomer
Noah Fernandez and returner
Dominic Kiptum clocked in at 16:18.0 and 16:22.8 to place 24
th and 25
th.
"We had some really great individual efforts today, highlighted by Caroline winning on the women's side and Diego with a great top five performance," Islanders head coach
Bryan Jackson said. "Training has been very consistent for the entire team, and that's most important this time of year. We need to keep the consistency the next few weeks, and we will be looking strong for a more complete team race in three weeks."
The Islanders will now ready up for their next meet on September 25, traveling up north for a big race at the Gans Creek Classic, hosted by the University of Missouri.
Women's Results
1.
Caroline Yegon: 10:46.7
15.
Embla Hreimsdottir: 11:27.9
20.
Neele Heyne: 11:32.9
30.
Abigail Kelley: 12:01.2
34.
Faith Ramos: 12:27.0
37.
Brooklyn Albert: 12:35.0
Men's Results
5.
Diego Canto: 15:21.6
11.
Dillon Smith: 15:48.9
12.
Andrew Rivas: 15:50.1
24.
Noah Fernandez: 16:18.0
25.
Dominic Kiptum: 16:22,8
26.
Philip Jensen e Castro: 16:26.4
28.
Gary Custer: 16:31.2
30.
Carson Brown: 16:32.6
33.
Coulson Boyd: 16:42.2
34.
Cooper Grady: 16:42.4
37.
Aaron Miranda: 16:53.8
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