Houston’s cross country teams concluded their season at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Friday. The men’s team placed 11th overall and the women placed eighth overall. | File photo
Houston’s cross country team concluded their 2019 season after competing in the NCAA South Central Region Championships on Friday, where the men’s team placed 11th overall and the women’s team placed eighth overall.
In the men’s 10k, sophomore Devin Vallejo-Bannis ran a 31:11.5 and placed 26th overall, which was a team-best. Vallejo-Bannis fell one spot short of earning All-Region honors.
Other notable performances for the men’s team included GJ Renya, who placed 42nd with a time of 31:34.2, Jemal Wote, who placed 69th with a time of 32:14.1, and Gabriel Armijo, who recorded 32:54.3 and finished in 98th place.
On the women’s side, their eight-place finish in the 6k marked the team’s best performance since the 2009 season.
Darby Guantt capped off her freshman season running a team-best 21:38.9. Guantt placed 21st, which earned her All-Region honors. Seniors Jahnavi Schneider, who finished in 26th place running a 21:49.8, and Meredith Sorensen, who placed 28th with a 22:02.8, finished their season out strong and rounded out the top-50 for the Cougars.
The Cougars will now turn their focus toward the upcoming track and field season which begins Dec. 7 when Houston travels to College Station to compete in the Texas A&M Reveille Invitational.
