STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State Cross Country is set to conclude its 2026 regular season at the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M held at the Watts Cross Country Course on Friday morning.
 
The men will begin the meet with an 8K at 8:15. The women will follow with a 6K at 8:50. Live results will be provided by Flash Results. The event will not be streamed but for the latest, updates, highlights and content follow @tarletonxctrack on Instagram and X.
 
The meet will serve as a preview for the NCAA South Central Region meet set to be held at the Watts Cross Country Course on Nov. 13. The Texans will compete in a loaded field full of the teams that will be competing at the regional meet for the chance to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21. On the men's side, 13 of the top 15 teams in the South Central Region are expected to compete on Friday, including the entire top 10. On the women's side, nine of the top 10 are scheduled to compete as well as 13 of the top 15.
 
The Texans last competed at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla., with the women placing 15^th overall and the men placing 16th. On the women's side, freshman Ava Tannehill led the Texans for the second-straight meet crossing in 23:14.2. Kaitlyn Gale was the second Texan to finish, just 11 seconds behind Tannehill. For the men, Diego Flores made it back-to-back meets to start the season as the first Texan man to cross. Flores placed 60^th in 25:29.6. He opened the season crossing in fifth at the John McKenzie Invitational. Tyler Hedgepeth was the second Texan to finish placing in 73^rd overall in 25:39.4.
 
Last year at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, the Texan men posted a 14^th place finish overall and were second among WAC programs. Tarleton State finished higher than three regionally-ranked programs including New Mexico State, UT Arlington and UTEP. Flores was the highest finishing returner for the men placing 99^th overall. The men will look to improve on their finish from a season ago. The women placed 32nd at last year's meet.
 
Tannehill was named the UAC Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Week after posting the highest Texan finish at the season opener, John McKenzie Invitational. She became the first Texan cross country runner to win a UAC weekly award since Tarleton State joined the United Athletic Conference on July 1, 2026. 
 
Following the conclusion of the regular season, Tarleton State will set off to The University Club at Arlington for the UAC Cross Country Championships in Richmond, Ky, on Oct. 30th.