STEPHENVILLE, Texas — For the fourth-straight season, Tarleton State Cross Country will open their slate at the John McKenzie Invitational hosted by TCU on Friday morning.
 
Friday's season opener will feature both the men and women each running 5K races. The women will kick off the meet with a 7:30 start time at the AP Ranch Championship Course. The men will follow with their start scheduled to start at 8 am. The meet will not be streamed, but live results will be provided by NTX Timing.
 
The Texan men were tabbed 14^th in the South Central Region Preseason Poll ahead of its 2026 campaign after placing in 14^th at the South Central Championships last year in Fayetteville. The announcement marked the second-straight year the Texans were ranked in the preseason regional poll. The Texan men are one of three teams in the inaugural year of the United Athletic Conference to be ranked in the top 15 in their respective regions. The only other UAC squad tabbed in the top 15 in the South Central Region is UT Arlington. 
 
Tarleton State welcomes back three returners on the men's side from last season. Diego Flores headlines the returning squad as the top Texan finisher last year at the South Central Region Championships with a 60^th place performance. Mez Barth also returns following a 63^rd place performance at the regional meet and the top returning Texan finisher at the WAC Championships a season ago. Tyler Hedgepeth paced the Texans in the first two meets of the season last year with a pair of top 10 performances. In addition, four freshmen join the roster for their collegiate debuts this season. 
 
The Texan women bolstered their squad from last year with the addition of five freshmen and one transfer. Kaitlyn Gale and Victoria Guerrero lead the returners after posting the top two Texan finishes at both the WAC and South Central Region Championships last season. Gale earned Second Team All-WAC placing 19th at the WAC Championships. All five freshmen hail from Texas with three placing in the top 50 of the Texas State Championships last fall.
 
Last year at the John McKenzie Invitational, the Texans had three of their four runners place in the top 15 across the men's and women's races. Hedgepeth led the men with a sixth-place finish followed by Barth who placed 14^th overall, both in their collegiate debuts. Hedgepeth posted the highest Texan individual finish in the three years competing in the meet. On the women's side, Victoria Guerrero led the charge crossing in 13^th place overall. In 2024, both squads posted their best team finishes at the meet each placing second overall. The women were led by a pair of top 10 finishers, the only duo in the Texans' three year history at the meet to post top 10 performances.
 
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