BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Tarleton State had a strong showing on the second race day of the year against some of the toughest competition, posting four top-25 finishes, including a silver medalist.
 
The Texans competed Friday morning at Texas A&M at Watts Cross Country Course in Bryan-College Station, Texas. It marked their second of four regular season races of the season.
 
Men 5th (8K)
 
The men got underway at 8 a.m. kicking off the 2023 Texas A&M Invitational.
 
"Overall, I was pleased with our performance," said coach Chase Rathke. "It was great to have Kevin back in the lineup. Kevin, Angel and Kellen all had PR's [personal records] today. Being our first 8K of the season I think it was a good building block for us. We have the Chile Pepper Festival at the University of Arkansas in two weeks that we are looking forward too."
 
The Purple and White had three top-20 finishers and took fifth place overall. They came in just behind three Power Five conference programs in host Texas A&M, Houston and TCU in their second meet of the year.
 
The Texans were led by the return of senior Kevin Baez after not competing in the first meet of the year. Baez posted a second place finish with a time of 24:09.8. He improved his time and place this season after a fourth place finish last season with a time of 24:26.0.
 
Following close behind Baez in the top-10 was senior Angel Contreras. He was just 19 seconds behind Baez with a time of 24:28.3 locking up ninth place for the Texans. Contreras also saw improvement this season as he shaved off 15 seconds from the 2022 Texas A&M Invitational.
 
Trailing not far behind Baez and Contreras was freshman Kellen Frickel posting a 16th place finish. Frickel finished with a time of 24:47.5 rounding out the top-20 finishers for the Texans.
 
The Texans had four other underclassmen who competed for the Purple and White.  Freshman Diego Flores posted a time of 25:31.3 locking up 50th place. Sophomore Ricky Tolentino finished in 87th place with a time of 26:21.0. Freshman Christopher Moreno came in 91st after finishing his time of 26:32.5. Rounding it out for the Purple and White was sophomore Alan Alfaro who came across the line at 27:52.9 taking 122nd place.
 
Women 9th (5K)
 
The Texans were once again led by junior Sage Lancaster. She posted a top-25 finish taking 21st place with a time of 18:36.9. Lancaster shaved off six seconds in her second meet of the year.
 
"Sage once again led us on the women's side," said Rathke. "She ran a good hard race and achieved a new PR [personal record]. As a whole we are missing a few pieces, but we are excited for the Chile Pepper Festival coming up in Arkansas. We had a good turnout last year and are looking to build some excitement for this year and have a great race again."
 
Juniors Kailey Sykora and Georgina Balderas finished with just a spot between them coming in 65th and 67th respectively. Sykora finished with a time of 19:40.9 and Balderas came in a few seconds later at 19.43.1.
 
A senior, pair of juniors and a freshman rounded things out for the Purple and White in College Station, Texas.
 
The lone senior competing for the Texans, Aimme Landers-Wilburn, finished in 86th place with a time of 20:27.5. Following Landers-Wilburn was freshman Emily Teal who finished with a time of 21:15.4 coming in 102nd place
 
The pair of juniors Jordan Jones and Magaly Lopez closed things out for the Texans coming in 110th and 113th place respectively. Jones finished with a time of 21:57.6 while Lopez came across the finish line at 22:11.9.
 
The Texans will be back in action on Sept. 29 as they will take a road trip to Natural State. The Purple and White will compete in the Chile Pepper Festival hosted by the Arkansas Razorbacks. The meet will take place at the Agri Park Cross Country Course in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
 
For full results from the meet click here.