Kicking off the start of the 2021 cross country season, the UTSA men’s and women’s teams heard the shot of the start gun in McAllister Park on Friday, Sept. 3 at the University of the Incarnate Word Twilight Meet. Both teams finished sixth overall with 145 points.

Trekking through the fields in the 4k, the women’s team, comprised of all freshman runners, recorded four top 35 finishes. Lily Morrill led the charge for the Roadrunners, crossing the finish line first for UTSA with a time of 16:01.1 for 28th overall. Chante Dixon followed Morrill’s lead in second for the team, only 14 seconds behind in 31st, at 16:14.02. Finishing 33rd with a time of 16:16.8, Savana Alt crossed the line third for the ‘Runners. Carolina Ortiz paced a 16:18.4 run for 34th. Following behind her was Joy Ojeda in 40th with a time of 16:45.9. Rounding out the women’s team was Brooke Veltman with a run of 17:18.3. 

Two top 25 finishes for the men’s team were led by junior Jake Smith. Smith led the ‘Runners with a 19th place finish clocking a 19:32.2 in the 8k. Following closely behind Smith, sophomore Harrison Wade clinched the 23rd place finish at 19:47.0. Michael Paredes crossed the line third for UTSA. The freshman paced a 20:12.3 for the meet. Only 1.6 seconds behind Paredes, freshman Luke Lawhorn finished 34th with a time of 20:13.9. Freshman Idol Ramon crossed the line next with a time of 20:39.7 for a 47th place finish. JD Corona closed the meet for UTSA with a run of 20:56.8. 

The ‘Runners will be back on the run Saturday, Sept. 25 in College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational. The starting gun will be fired at 8 a.m.