XC Wraps up Regular Season at Arturo Barrios

Arturo Barrios Men's Results

Arturo Barrios Women's Results

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Battling through windy conditions and massive fields on both sides, the Baylor cross country women and men finished 28^th and 29^th, respectively, in closing out the regular season with Friday morning's Arturo Barrios Invitational at the Watts Cross Country Course.

On the men's side, Baylor's top five runners all posted their best time of the season, led by junior Jack Sterrett in 106^th place overall with an 8K race time of 24:30.2. The Bears' other scoring runners were seniors Nolan Keenan (25:02.7), Straton Miller (25:27.1) and Aiden Ramshaw (25:56.8) and freshman Matthew King (25:28.4).

"It's not where we ultimately want to be," Baylor coach David Barnett said, "but collectively, from 1 to 5, we had a pretty close group. The goal is to keep closing those gaps heading into (the Big 12 Championship)."

With No. 1 runner Ruth Kimeli sitting this one out, the women were led by Eastern Kentucky transfer Khadija Ennasri, who placed 48^th (out of 389) with a 6K time of 20:27.6. Her former team took three of the top seven spots individually and finished second in the team standings behind nationally ranked Arkansas.

Sophomores Rickeisha Simms and Eva Jacobsen were next across the line for the Bears, both running under 22 minutes, while senior Mackenize Browne and junior Ella Perry were the other scoring runners.

"The top three women ran really well," Barnett said. "The other ones just got out a little slower than we'd like, and they got stuck behind a lot of bodies. Hopefully, in the future, we can continue to put ourselves up there a little more. But I loved how the top six raced. Overall, we got some things done. It's never a perfect race, but I think the ones who ran well were bright spots for us."

After taking next week to recover, the Baylor men and women will compete in the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 31 at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla.

"We will back off a little on some of the workouts, but we still have a lot to do between now and then," Barnett said. "Hopefully, they'll feel a little fresher and find a way to build some confidence and build some momemtum in the two weeks leading up to conference."

For the latest news on the Baylor cross country team all year long, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.

XC Wraps up Regular Season at Arturo Barrios

Players Mentioned

Mackenize Browne

Khadija Ennasri

Nolan Keenan

Ruth Kimeli

Matthew King

Straton Miller

Ella Perry

Aiden Ramshaw

Rickeisha Simms

Jack Sterrett

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