XC Wraps Up Season at NCAA Regional

Friday, November 12

Waco, Texas

10 a.m. (Women’s 6K); 11 a.m. (Men's 10K)

Baylor

NCAA South Central Regional

XC Wraps Up Season at NCAA Regional

11/12/2021 2:58:00 PM | Cross Country

Hodge's 34th-Place Finish Highlights Day for Bears

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            At least for the first half of Friday's NCAA South Central Regional, Ryan Hodge proved that he can run with the best.
            Getting out to a good start, the Baylor junior was in the lead pack through the first 3,000 meters of the 10K race, just over a second behind eventual winner Haftu Knight of Texas. But, he couldn't sustain it, dropping to 15^th at the halfway mark and falling to 34^th in the field of 173 runners with a time of 32:06.9.
            "How the course is laid out, you want to get out in a good position early on," Hodge said. "(Coach David Barnett's) message to me was, if you want to finish in the top 15, go out in the top 15. I was definitely in the group that I wanted that first 5K of the race. I think the hills got to me. I think physically, over time, those guys are a little ahead of me right now."
            Hodge highlighted the day for Baylor cross country, with the women placing 11^th and the men 17^th in the season-ending meet at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco.
            "At the end of the day, he didn't finish how he wanted to," Barnett said, "but he went out there with the people he wanted to race with, and it was by far the best regional meet he's ever had. He's made a big jump this year at conference and during the season. He's the first guy we've had under 24 minutes (in the 8K) in over a decade."
            Hodge's breakthrough came four weeks ago at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational, when he finished 13^th with a personal-best time of 23:57.0. He followed that up with a 22^nd-place finish at the Big 12 Championships, narrowly missing all-conference honors.
            "When I broke 24 (minutes), that really put it on my mind that I belong up there," he said. "To be able to have it in my mind and continue going into this meet, that was my motivation. I do belong up here. When it's a 10K, I think that extra 2K really does play a factor. I do think with time it will come."
            Missing two of their top seven, the Baylor men were 17^th in the team standings with 389 points, finishing ahead of Sam Houston, ACU, Texas-Arlington and Tulane and just one spot below LSU (373). Texas and Arkansas earned the two automatic qualifying spots for the NCAA Championships, with the Longhorns edging the Razorbacks, 35-39.
            Philip Roxas was next for the Bears at 64^th, running a time of 32:58.3, followed by Ryan Day in 82^nd(33:22.5), Christopher Martinez in 108^th (34:10.6) and Kade Hulett in 150^th (36:39.6).
            "Drew Snyder has been our No. 3 runner all year, but a little banged-up and was available today," Barnett said. "That hurt the team's score, but the people we had competed hard, and I think forward to the track season, we're going to have some men score points on the track."
            Ranked 11^th in the region going into the meet, the Baylor women placed in that spot with 300 points, just two points out of a top-10 finish. Arkansas and Rice were 1-2, with Texas, LSU and ACU rounding out the top five.
            "The start is huge," Barnett said. "At the end of the day, we have to do a better job of putting ourselves in the race. We have to be with the people we want to race with in the first mile, and not hope things happen on the back end of the race."
            As she's done all year, sophomore Lily Jacobs led the way for the Bears, finishing 50^th with a 6K time of 22:12.9.
            "A big thing I've been working on is trying to get out," Jacobs said. "Being in the middle, I would have thought would be a good box, but I felt like I was kind of just swallowed into everyone. People were going in front of me from either side. . . . I kind of found myself in no-man's land, not really in a pack. I wasn't super engaged in the race, but that's just mental."
            Running in just her second meet of the season, freshman Taylor Whitfield was second on the team and 52^nd overall, just two seconds behind Jacobs (22:14.8).
            "She's had every bump in the road, from injury, COVID, she got the flu," Jacobs said of Whitfield. "Even Tuesday, we did a very light workout, and she was very unsure of herself. But, she was amazing. I can't wait to see what she does with more training. She's going to be a huge asset in the 5K and mile for us in track."
            Baylor's other scoring runners were South Dakota State transfer Ellie Friesen in 60^th (22:29.6), Celia Holmes in 70^th (22:40.0) and freshman Hayden Gold in 97^th (22:11.0).
            "Taylor had a phenomenal race," Barnett said. "I think all of the women worked really hard during the race, but we missed the moment early on. They're young, they're getting the hang of it. Hopefully, a teachable moment, and moving forward it won't be as much of a problem. We weren't ever in the race like we wanted to be."
            With the cross country season over, the Bears will now look to the indoor track & field season with a meet at Texas A&M in December.

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor cross country ended its 2021 season at the NCAA South Central Regional, Friday morning at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco. Men's and women's teams finished 17^th and 11^th, respectively.

Lily Jacobs set the pace for the women's squad with a 50^th-place finish and a 6K time of 22:12.9. True-freshman Taylor Whitfield, who missed nearly a month because of illness and injury, followed closely behind with a 52^nd-place finish in 22:14.8. Ellie Friesen finished 60^th with a time of 22:29.6, Celia Holmes finished 70th with a 22:40.0 time, Hayden Gold finished 97^th with a time of 22:11.0 and Mazie Larsen ended in 107^th with a time of 23:21.9. The women finished with a total of 300 points in 11^th-place.

For the men, Ryan Hodge was out in front, finishing in 34^th-place with a time of 32:06.9. Philip Roxas came sprinting into the finish to end up 64^th with a time of 32:58.3. Ryan Day finished 82^nd with a 33:22.5 time, Christopher Martinez finished in 108^th-place with a time of 34:10.6, and Kade Hulett ended No. 150 with a time of 36:39.6. The men's squad finished in 17^th-place with a total of 389 points.

With no athletes advancing to nationals in Tallahassee, Fla., the Bears now shift their focus to the track, with the first meet at Texas A&M in December.

HIGHLIGHTS

Philip Roxas beat his previous 10K personal best (2019) by exactly 30-seconds.

STAT OF THE MEET
34 – Career-best finish by Ryan Hodge at the NCAA South Central Regional

TOP QUOTES
David Barnett looking forward…
"A lot of these guys aren't going to be 5K or 10K guys on the track. I've seen a lot of development this fall from a mental standpoint, especially on the men's team. They've been working towards big things. The women are going to have some track athletes as well, but on the men's side our top-3 are all going to be able to score points on the track. I can already see it coming together for people on the track. I'm looking forward to that."

Senior Ryan Hodge on his performance this year…
"After the A&M meet when I broke 24, that really put it on my mind that I belong up here. To be able to have that in my mind and continue going into this meet, that was my motivation. I do belong up here. Once again, when it's a 10K, that extra 2K really does play a factor. I do think with time it'll come."

Sophomore Lily Jacobs on the meet…
"I can't say I felt great. It definitely was improvement from conference. I think we were all wanting to bounce back. It was kind of a hot day, overall, but it was fun to be at home. And I think it was a good way to end the season. It wasn't horrible, I think it could have been a little more aggressive. But, all credit goes to Taylor (Whitfield), our second runner. She was out for about a month and had the race of her life today. So, super proud of her."

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