RICHMOND, Ky. — Kaitlyn Gale placed ninth overall and was one of four Texans to earn All-UAC honors to lead Tarleton State Cross Country at the inaugural UAC Cross Country Championships at The Club at Arlington on Friday morning.

Gale was tabbed to the All-UAC Second Team after placing ninth overall, the highest finish by a Texan man or women at the conference championships in the D1 era. Gale led the women's squad for the second time this year. As a team, the women's squad posted a fourth-place overall finish, the highest by the Texan women in the D1 era at any cross country conference championship. The freshman trio of Ava Tannehill, Sadie Larson and Rylie Rivers all posted top seven finishes among freshman cracking the top 35 overall finishers to earn All-UAC Freshman Team honors. The women surpassed the expectations set in the UAC preseason poll having been tabbed fifth at the beginning of the year.

On the men's side, Diego Flores crossed in 17th place to lead the Texan men for the fourth time this season. Tyler Hedgepeth was the second Texan man to cross placing 24th overall. The duo led the men's squad to sixth place overall ahead of West Georgia, Little Rock and Austin Peay. It marks the second-highest finish by the Texan men in the D1 era at a conference championship. The team also bested their preseason poll prediction after entering the season ranked seventh in the conference.

"We are proud of the way our women competed at the UAC Championships," said head coach Bobby Carter. "They showed tremendous effort, resilience, and determination throughout the race. While we know there is more in us, this group continues to build something special. We will take the lessons from this championship, get back to work, and continue pushing the standard of Tarleton Cross Country. Our men also competed with toughness and determination today as well. We understand the expectations we have for this program, and we know we are capable of more. This experience will serve as motivation moving forward. We will continue to develop, compete, and challenge ourselves to be better. Our standard doesn't change, and our best days are still ahead of us. Greater is coming for this team."

Women
Gale paced the women crossing in 18:14.0 to post her highest conference championship performance of her collegiate career. She now has the top two finishes at a conference championship by a Texan woman as well as the top finish by a man or woman at the championship meet in the D1 era. She surpassed Kevin Baez who placed 11th on the men's side at the 2023 WAC XC Championships. The junior also was named to the All-WAC Second Team a year ago placing 19th at last year's WAC Championships. 

"I am really proud of the effort that our women put in placing fourth," said distance coach Zent. "They fought hard the entire race and left it all on the course. They have set themselves up well for a great deal of success in the years to come."

The next Texan to cross the line was freshman Tannehill. Tannehill recorded an 18th place performance and was the fourth freshman to finish in the race. She crossed in 18:52.9 just 10 seconds outside the edge of earning All-UAC Second Team honors. The freshman was in the chase pack behind Gale for the majority of the race.

The freshmen weren't done yet with Larson the next Texan to finish earning 26th place overall in 19:18.6. Larson was the fifth freshman to finish in the race also earning All-Freshman recognition. Victoria Guerrero was the next Texan to cross nearly matching her placement from a year ago placing in 29th overall in 19:33.0. Rivers was the third Texan freshman to cross the line also earning All-Freshman honors placing in 31st overall. Rivers crossed in 19:40.7 marking the fifth Texan to cross the line.

Sophia Sandoval was the sixth Texan to cross and the fourth Purple and White freshman to finish. She was the ninth to finish amongst freshman recording a 35th place performance in 19:56.5. Lincoln Husbands was the final Texan to cross the line registering in 20:52.2 in 56th place overall.

Eastern Kentucky took home the women's team title scoring 20 points and posting four of the top five finishers. UT Arlington finished second overall scoring 53 points and notching three of the top eight performers. Central Arkansas placed third scoring 87 points with their top finisher placing 10th overall. Tarleton State placed fourth scoring 110 points holding off Abilene Christian by 48 points and Little Rock by 50.

Eastern Kentucky freshman Brighter Jepchumba took home the individual title by 15 seconds clocking in at 16:24.4. Jepchumba was named the UAC Runner and Freshman of the Year for her performance. EKU's Edna Chelulei earned runner-up status holding off third-place finisher Dorcas Jepkosgei of UT Arlington by over 30 seconds.

Men
The men were led for the fourth time this season by Diego Flores. The senior led the Texan men to a sixth-place team performance. Flores improved from his performance at last year's WAC Championships crossing in 17th place overall. He was part of the chase pack for most of the race finishing less than 20 seconds behind the top 15. Also for the fourth time this season, Tyler Hedgepeth was the second Texan to cross placing 24th overall in 26:08.5. Hedgepeth improved on his finish from last year leaping by nearly 20 slots.

"The men fought hard today, but came up a little short of our anticipated goals for our conference meet," said Zent. "They have worked hard and stuck together this year. With the youth of our team, I look forward to the future of our men's squad as well."

Ethan Johnston was the next Texan to finish and the first of the freshman quartet for the men. Johnston remained the third Texan for the majority of the race clocking in at 27:04.7 to place 43rd overall. Johnston was the 11th highest finishing freshman in the meet. He was followed by fellow freshman John Stanczak who placed 51st overall in 27:34.6, the fourth Texan to cross. Will Kimmel was next placing in 54th overall in 27:50.9. Michael Fuller rounded up the Texans placing in 57th in 28:08.8.

Eastern Kentucky posted a perfect score of 15 to claim the men's title as well. The Colonels posted the top six runners in the meet with their seventh runner placing eighth as well. UT Arlington placed second as a team scoring 85 points with four runners in the top 15. Central Arkansas placed third overall scoring 91 points with four runners in the top 20 overall.

The Colonels swept the podium with freshman Abel Kirui crossing in 23:52.6 to earn the title as UAC Men's Runner and Freshman of the Year. He was followed by his teammates Brian Kimutai and Felix Rivet. Kimutai crossed in 24:00.5 with Rivet crossing in 24:09.7.

Following the conference championship, the Texans will be heading to the NCAA South Central Region Championships on Nov. 13 at College Station. For the latest updates, highlights, content and news follow @tarletonxctrack on Instagram and X.