MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Competing under the lights for the first time in the Division I era, the Texas A&M University-Commerce cross country team got off to a strong start to its season on Saturday night at the Memphis Twilight at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex with the men taking fourth and the women finishing 10^th.
 
The Lion men beat out three Division I teams for fourth with 109 points, while the women scored 285 points for 10^th out of 14 teams. The full results can be found HERE.
 
"Tonight was a nice rust buster for us," said assistant coach Mark Hamiter. "We have additional key men and women, who will rotate back into our packs in College Station in two weeks, and we believe this group can make lots of headway by November."
 
Alex Speer (Robinson) led the way for the Lions with a time of 20:46.12 in the four-mile race, while Casey Novelo (Bedford – Trinity) timed 20:52.29 for 19^th, Josh Shanahan (Noosaville, Australia) finished 21^st with a time of 20:53.65 in his collegiate debut, and Jeremiah Garcia (Haslet – Northwest Eaton) took 24^th with a time of 20:59.76.
 
To round out the Lions, Yosef Abdulrazeq (Mansfield Legacy) came in 44^th with a time of 21:43.80, Taylor Warrick (Stockdale) timed 21:55.02 for 50^th place, Noah Fernandez (San Antonio Central Catholic) clocked in at 22:32.49 for 69^th, and Abel Solorio (Tyler – Cumberland Academy) was 75^th with a time of 22:49.20.
 
"I am proud of our men's front pack for moving up patiently and keeping our 1-4 spread to just 13 seconds," said Hamiter.
 
On the women's side, Haleigh Risner (Winnsboro) was the top finisher in the five-kilometer race with a time of 19:08.35, followed by Mareva Heck (Marseille, France) in 54^th with a time of 20:42.61, Riley Roberts (Bullard) finishing 63^rd with a time of 21:02.66. Oriana Gee (Cy-Fair) was 95^th in her cross country debut with a time of 24:13.14, and Jaycee Nelson rounded out the Lions with a time of 33:27.83 for 106^th.
 
Hamiter added, "Haleigh led us by mixing it up with some quality runners from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Arkansas State."
 
UP NEXT
The Lions return to the course on September 13 at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station.