Graduate Branch Cox races to a fourth-place finish for the Cougars at the Texas A&M Invitational. | Courtesy of Houston Athletics
The UH men’s cross country team continued their strong season with a third-place finish at the Texas A&M Invitational.
Led by standout performances from brothers Branch and Miles Cox, the Cougars managed to secure a spot on the podium despite fierce competition from regional rivals. The men’s team averaged 24:09.75 over their top five finishers, a solid improvement from previous meets.
Their total time of 2:00:48.71 was only two minutes behind the leaders from TCU and Texas A&M, both of whom posted nearly identical average times.
Graduate Branch Cox placed fourth with a personal best time of 23:41.7, leading the Houston runners.
Junior Miles Cox followed closely, finishing 12th with a time of 23:53.2, also a personal best.
Additional personal bests came from sophomore Aaron Crittenden who finished in 20th with a time of 24:07.8. Junior Benym Fantue trailed behind, at 33rd as he clocked in a 24:34.6. Sophomore Patrick Flowers took 44th with a time of 24:55.2.
Freshman Caden Thurman and freshman Zade Kayyali rounded out the team’s scoring efforts with a 30th and 55th place finish.
In the other camp, freshman Cadence Patterson led the women’s squad to a modest seventh-place finish. Patterson snagged 19th with a time of 17:56.1, followed by freshman Lily Campos at 41st and freshman AnnClaire Cop at 44th.
The women’s average time of 18:37.40 was competitive, but the team had room to close the gap with the top programs in the region.
Cross Country will conclude the regular season as it returns to College Station, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 18, for the Arturo Barrios Invitational. The men will open the day with the 8k at 8:30 a.m., followed by the women’s 6k at 9:15 a.m.
