STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton men's cross country earned an honor that no Texan cross country team had yet seen in the Division 1 era on Monday.
 
Tarleton slotted in at No. 12 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA D1 men's regional rankings. They ranked 12th in the South Central Region, ahead of Central Arkansas, Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston. They came in behind the likes of Texas, Arkansas, Texas A&M and LSU.
 
"I'm super proud of these young men," said head coach Chase Rathke. "They believe in each other and that's evident each and every day in practice. I expect them to only keep getting better. They aren't content with where we are at, and they will be the first to tell you that. I am excited for the rest of this season."
 
The ranking comes on the heels of an impressive performance at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival where they placed 13th of 33 teams in the men's 8k. The Texans placed ahead of teams such as SFA, SHSU, UTA, Oklahoma, Houston and ACU.
 
Angel Contreras paced Tarleton with a time of 24:45.2, followed by Kevin Baez who ran a 24:58.2.
 
Previously this season the Texan men placed fourth at the ACU Naimadu Classic, fourth at the UTA Invitational and second at the Texas A&M Invitational.
 
Tarleton now looks ahead to the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M at the Watts Cross Country Course in College Station. The meet is on Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. and is the last tune-up before the WAC Cross Country Championships.
 

Rank	Team
1	Texas
2	Arkansas
3	Texas A&M
4	Tulane
5	Arkansas State
6	Incarnate Word
7	Rice
8	LSU
9	Lamar
10	New Orleans
11	McNeese State
12	Tarleton
13	Central Arkansas
14	Stephen F. Austin
15	Sam Houston