XC Hits the Road for ACU Naimadu Classic

Saturday, September 18

Abilene, Texas

All Day

Baylor

ACU Invitational

XC Hits the Road for ACU Naimadu Classic

9/17/2021 11:16:00 AM | Cross Country

Men’s team will run 8,000 meters while women’s team will run 6,000 meters

WACO, Texas – Baylor cross country hits the road for the first time in two weeks for the ACU Naimadu Classic Saturday at the ACU XC Course in Abilene, Texas.

"The team has been making some progress, starting to look fitter and fitter," head cross country coach David Barnett said. "The cool weather has been a nice reprieve. I think the workouts have been going really well. Everybody's mindsets seem to be positive, and everybody has been working hard. I've been really pleased with how things have been progressing."

The men's team will be running an 8,000-meter race, while the women's team will run 6,000 meters.

Suiting up for the women's team will be Celia Holmes, Lily Jacobs, Hayden Gold, Chloe Gangnath, Mazie Larsen, Devon Vopni, Jordan Ledington, Isabella Prosceno, Celie Jackson, Sophia Leidner and Kasey Sutryk.

"The women's team is going to have a nice pack running together," Barnett said. "I'm excited to see Lily Jacobs open up. She was one of our top runners last year, and she's been a great leader in training so far. I'm excited to see her run.

"The freshmen have been progressing nicely. This will be their first 6,000-meter race ever, so it will be good to see how they can handle the challenge. I'm optimistic about it. They have a couple good groups that have been training together, and the plan is for them to execute that and do the same thing for the race."

On the men's side, the Bears will feature Drew Snyder, Philip Roxas, Chris Martinez, Beau Thomason, Alec Atteberry and Chuey Hernandez.

"We'll be racing six men and looking to make more progress," Barnett said. "I want them to compete at a high level, beat the people they are capable of beating and make progress for the next race. This is another step in the road to get to where we want to be by championship season. That's the main thing."

Baylor will be competing against host ACU as well as Hardin Simmons, Trinity, Lubbock Christian, Angelo State, Eastern New Mexico and UT-Permian Basin.

"This will be a good chance for us to get a race under our belt at the full championship race distance and see where we are in two weeks for Missouri," Barnett said.

The Alfred Rugema Men's Collegiate 8K will run at 8:30 a.m. CT, followed by the Casi Florida Women's Collegiate 6K at 9 a.m. CT. Live results can be found at https://www.fttiming.com/home.html.

For updates on Baylor cross country throughout the season, follow @BaylorTrack on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.