Kerrville, Texas – Texas A&M International cross country delivered a standout performance at the Mountaineer Hill Country Invitational on Saturday, as the women's team earned a second-place finish and the men's squad claimed first overall, highlighted by
Ian Rono's school-record run in the 8K.
Women's Team
The Dustdevil women placed three runners inside the top five to secure a runner-up team finish.
Fancy Jelagat paced the field with a first-place finish in 23:11.6, followed closely by teammate
Brenda Chepkemboi, who crossed in 23:22.1 for second.
Samantha Viruel added to the front-end dominance, placing fifth overall in 24:03.6.
Mercy Kosgei also cracked the top 10 with a ninth-place time of 25:42.0, while
Laura Jeptoo (26:32.6) and
Dania Sepulveda (26:45.1) contributed valuable depth.
Jazlynn Villalobos (27:23.9),
Valerie Esparza (27:32.4), and
Valerie Garcia (29:36.0) rounded out the lineup for TAMIU.
Men's Team
On the men's side,
Ian Rono stole the show with a school-record 8K time of 23:26.6, winning the individual crown and leading the Dustdevils to a commanding team victory.
Paul Barmao and
Alan Hernandez completed a podium sweep for TAMIU, placing second (26:19.4) and third (26:52.6), respectively.
Gael Rodriguez (29:06.0),
Cristian Sanchez (29:18.0), and
Dickens Kipkogei (30:32.9) rounded out the scoring, sealing a strong first-place finish for the Dustdevils.
