*** Official Aggie Cross Country Thread ***

21,840 Views | 431 Replies | Last: 13 hrs ago by taylorswift13_
taylorswift13_
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After our Aggie Women Cross Country team qualified for nationals last season and for the expected great season our teams are supposed to have, I thought cross country deserves its own thread I thought we'd make a thread so we can discuss the roster, meets, results from meets around the country, other sec teams, other teams in the region, as well as high school cross country!

Schedule
August 30: Cowboy Preview - @Oklahoma State

September 13: Texas A&M Invitational - HOME

September 27: Nuttycombe Invitational - @Wisconsin

October 18: Arturo Barrios - HOME

November 1: SEC Championship - HOME

November 15: NCAA South Central Regional - HOME

November 23: NCAA XC Championship- @Wisconsin

How Collegiate Cross Country Works
So college cross country (xc) is an NCAA fall sport that is distinct from track and field, BUT the scholarships awarded for runners who participate in cross country are within the allotted scholarships given to the track and field team. There is no such thing as a cross country scholarship. Track and cross country scholarships both belong to the scholarship count to an institution's track and field roster! In track and field women have 18 scholarships while the men only have 12.6! So cross country is included within those numbers! Some schools will use a large portion of those scholarships on distance runners while others won't use any at all! There is no data to show how A&M utilizes their scholarships but I know for a fact we do really well with less scholarship money than other schools!

Cross country at this level is a team sport. 5 members make up a scoring team, although 7 can run at the post season meets, while typically more run in the practice meets! So scoring wise, they collect the places from the top 5 runners from each team and add up their places. The team with the lowest score wins! A 15 being a perfect score!

The distance ran varies throughout the season, but ends with a 6k for the women and a 10k for the men at the regional and national meet! There is a regular season which usually includes 3-5 meets, usually starting off with a shorter distance and working up! For us, we will have 4 regular season meets, then conference!

Then after these races, the next one is the regional meet (or the national qualifier). The regional qualifier is one of 9 regional meets across the country! We are located in the south central region with school like Arkansas, tu, LSU, and other schools from these states! At the regional meet, the top 2 teams advance to nationals! Arkansas will always use a lot of scholarships to load up their distance team so overtaking them is difficult, but last year our women finished second and advanced to nationals!

Head Coach: Wendel McRaven
Assistant Coach: Julia Abell

Schedule Link: https://12thman.com/sports/mens-cross-country/schedule

Roster Link: https://12thman.com/sports/mens-cross-country/roster
taylorswift13_
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I will have an in depth preview on both the women's and men's team coming out soon!!
taylorswift13_
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So many home meets
taylorswift13_
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Key Returners:
Women - Kennady Fontenot, Maddie Livingston, Shewaye Johnson, Emma Little, Amanda Hogan

Men - Jonathan Chung, Jack Johnston, Cooper Cawthra, Aiden Gonzalez-Rodilles, Noah Willows, Zack Munger

Key Additions:
Women - Debora Cherono, Freshman: San Juanita Leal, Madison Peters, Staucie Lees, Penelope Gracey

Men - Victor Kibiego, Luca Santorum
frankie00
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Thank you for the separate thread and informative posts!
taylorswift13_
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You make a thread they listen…

Here is the first edition of the Texas A&M Cross Country Roster

https://12thman.com/sports/mens-cross-country/roster
taylorswift13_
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Interesting takeaways from the uploaded roster is the addition of College Station product Katherine Brunson who comes from a strong distance program at CSHS and that Debora Cherono, the outstanding runner out of Kenya is on the roster!

Carter Gordy and Ondrej Gajdos retained a redshirt after last year so they will technically be freshman! As is transfer Luca Santorum and Gilbert Rono!

Joseph Benn has graduated and went on to law school, Siddharth Jayaraman will not use his extra year of eligibility, Gemma Goddard, who after a strong freshman campaign is no longer listed after many devestating injuries

ALSO they tend to make corrections to the roster often so I'll update that as we go
taylorswift13_
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Women Roster
Seniors: Nicole Chastain, Maddie Livingston

Juniors: Kennady Fontenot, Brooke Forbes, Emma Little, Elise Smoot

Sophomores: Amanda Hogan, Shewaye Johnson, Maddie Jones, Austin Owens, Carson Parker, Avery Perkins, Sydney Waterbury

Freshman: Addie Applebaum, Katherine Brunson, Debora Cherono, Jamie Confer, Penelope Gracey, San Juanita Leal, Staucie Lees, Kristen McHugh, Maddie Peters, Megan Roberts
taylorswift13_
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Men Roster
Seniors: Cooper Cawthra, Jonathan Chung

Juniors: Victor Kibiego

Sophomores: Aiden Gonzalez-Rodilles, Diego Heredia, Hunter Jackson, Jack Johnston, Zach Munger, Noah Willows

Freshman: Ondrej Gajdos, Carter Gordy, Gilbert Rono, Luca Santorum
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https://instagr.am/p/CzecbPTRcOX
taylorswift13_
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https://instagr.am/p/Cze0TeVOjxG
taylorswift13_
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Throwbacks to last year
taylorswift13_
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I'm gonna start a series introducing the members of our cross country teams starting with the freshman and working my way up to the seniors! Hope you all enjoy! I'll try to do 2 female and 1 male each day!
taylorswift13_
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Name: SAN JUANITA LEAL (SJ)
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Edinburg, Texas
High School: Edinburg North High School
Major: Nutrition

We'll kick this series off with superstar 5 star all American freshman San Juanita Leal, the queen and goat of Rio Grande Valley high school distance running an one of the top distance prospects in the country! I've had the pleasure of watching her race and her tenacity and confidence is rare! I've seen her race against guys and beat most of them down here! She is a 4 time UIL Track and Field 6A State Champion and was undefeated in the 1600/3200 in Texas for 2 years! She was also the 6A runner up in cross country and 4th place in 2022! On why she chose Texas A&M, "Because I really bonded with the coaches and athletes and they really made me feel at home, more than any other school and it's closer to home." She has some insane PR's and I expect her to contribute to our cross country team immediately! She makes us better! She's basically trained solo all of high school or with guys, a great environment like A&M and she'll only flourish! She is a great athlete and great student, she was coached in high school her by her uncle Rene Palacios. She is by far one of the most talented distance athletes we have ever signed and I can't wait to watch what she accomplished in Aggieland.

PR's
800 - 2:08
1500 - 4:28
1600 - 4:42
3000 - 9:14
3200 - 9:50
5k xc - 16:57
taylorswift13_
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Name: STAUCIE LEES
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Spring, Texas
High School: Conroe Grand Oaks High School
Major: Sport Management


Next up is another athlete from out stellar signing class, Staucie Lees! Staucie has made it to state in track the last two years in the 1600 and 3200 like Leal! She is also a two time state qualifier in cross country finishing 6th place this past year in 6A! What I find the most intriguing about Staucie Lees is the epitome of hard work and progression as she has drastically improved every single year! She is also one of the top high school steeplechase runners in the country! The event is not heavily contested in Texas and not permitted by UIL, but she has ran it before and ran it well! She is a great cross country runner and I'm excited to see her race with these girls and fight for a spot in the lineup!!! On committing to A&M, "I'm blessed to be joining an amazing team and community, Gig'em!"

PR's
800 - 2:13
1500 - 4:31
1600 - 4:52
3000 - 10:01
3200 - 10:32
2000 Steeplechase - 6:43
5k xc - 17:24
taylorswift13_
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Name: ONDREJ GAJDOS
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Liberic, Czech Republic
High School: FX Saldy
Major: Business Administration

On the men's side we're kicking things off with the man from the Czech Republic, Ondrej Gajdos! Many of you may have saw him make his Aggie debut indoors as he pumped his first as he won his first collegiate race! He did not run cross country for us last year, but did run indoor and outdoor track, so he is a freshman in cross country! He is more of a 800/1500 specialist so I'm intrigued on what he can do out on the xc course! He seems like a Cooper Cawthra runner who's primary races are on the track but has gotten stronger and stronger in xc! The volume in the xc training should make him a stronger track runner! He was just off the cut off to make it to the national prelims in the 800! Expect a solid jump his second year in the states! Not sure about how one comes from the Czech Republic to College Station, Texas and I'd love to learn what that culture shock was like! But I'm glad he's an Aggie!


PR's
800 - 1:48.9
1500 - 3:42
1600 - 4:02
3000 - 8:20
AG75FYL
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Don't worry about Ondrej. I believe he comes from the western part of the country which is the Bohemia part. As full blooded Bohemian myself, I put my full faith in my brother.
taylorswift13_
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Awesome! That's very interesting!!
TRM
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AG
https://instagr.am/p/C-vrJlCPf_B
taylorswift13_
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Name: MADDIE PETERS
Class: Freshman
Hometown: League City, Texas
High School: Pearland High School
Major: Sport Management

Another stellar signing from our 2024 distance class! Madison Peters has been one of the top distance runners in the state of Texas! In fact she made it to the state meet 3 years in a row in track and placed in the top 10 her junior and senior year at the state cross country meet in 6A! She placed 9th as a junior and placed 3rd as a senior behind San Juanita Leal! On the track she has a 4th, 6, and two 7ths at the state meet! Peters is a strong and confident racer with solid speed as well! She is going to be a solid addition to our cross country roster and I believe she will compete to crack the lineup!!! Her performances in cross country speak for themselves! I'm excited to see her in the maroon and white!

PR's
400 - 1:01
800 - 2:14.97
1500 - 4:32
1600 - 4:51
3200 - 10:23
5k xc - 16:45
taylorswift13_
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Name: PENELOPE GRACEY
Class: Freshman
Hometown: The Woodlands, Texas
High School: The Woodlands High School
Major: Business Administration

The first commitment out of our new freshman was Penelope Gracey! She comes from a stories distance program out of the Woodlands! In 2021 as only a sophomore Penelope placed 9th at the 6A state meet in cross country running an 18:07 which was over a minute faster than she began the season with! Then she made it back to state her junior year placing 22nd and just missed state in track! At the age of 15 she was diagnosed with anemia and celiac and running become difficult, but she persevered through and kept running!! That heart will be an excellent addition to the maroon and white!! Here's a great story on her https://www.yourconroenews.com/neighborhood/moco/sports/article/woodlands-penelope-gracey-stays-course-18281842.php

PR's
800 - 2:25
1500 - 4:45
1600 - 5:04
3000 - 10:09
3200 - 10:47
5k xc - 18:01
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Name: LUCA SANTORUM
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Riva del Garda, Italy
Last School: Cumberlands
Major: to be updated

Luca Santorum is the only new transfer to this team that didn't sign anyone out of high school! Luca moved to the United States from Italy and went to the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky, an NAIA school! If you read his PR's now you wouldn't know that he came to the US with PR's of just of 1:55 in the 800 and 3:57 in the 1500! So either the Cumberlands coach is the best distance coach that's ever lived or Santorum is a hidden gem and a hell of a worker! In his one season he won 4 NAIA National titles! We are getting a strong runner with elite talent! His cross country time is strong as well and he will be a factor in our top 5!

PR's
800 - 1:49
1500 - 3:41
1600 - 4:01
8k xc - 24:09
DoitBest
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taylorswift13_
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Name: DEBORA CHERONO
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Keringet, Kenya / Uasain Gishu County
Major: will update when available

Oh my goodness. This is not up for debate. But this is undoubtedly the greatest distance signing our ladies have ever had in this entire programs history! San Juanita might be the best high school prospect we've ever signed, but this time Coach Henry, McRaven, Abell, and Ereng went over to Kenya and grabbed one hell of a prospect in Debora Cherono! It's hard to find more races or times on her, but a 19:54 through a 6k is absolutely unbelievable and puts her in shape to be in the top 20 in the entire nation! Last year our ladies placed 30th at nationals with our top runner Maddie Livingston placing 129th! If you added Cherono to our squad with her PR we move up to 26th and regional wise we further solidify our spot in the top 2 and shorten the gap between us and Arkansas! We just have to hope she makes it to campus and is able to run this year! With Maddie Livingston, Kennady Fontenot, Emma Little, Shewaye Johnson returning and the additions of Leal, Peters, and Lees, this can be the best season we have ever had in women's cross country! Cherono will be a big part of that! And her 4:17 in the 1500 is great as well! She'll need to drop that time to score but she's going to be a factor for us! I really hope she gets to run this year, this season could be historic!

PR's
1500 - 4:17
6k xc - 19:54
taylorswift13_
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Name: GILBERT RONO
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Hometown: Kericho, Kenya
High School: Cheptenye
Major: General Studies

Another addition to our distance squad from the way of Kenya is redshirt freshman Gilbert Rono. I believe the addition of 800 coach Paul Ereng has served beneficial due to additions like Rono, Cherono, and also Victor Kibiego in the steeple. In this board we have always been clamoring for international track athletes, and A&M has answered with these additions! Rono joined us in January and only raced sparingly and never got close to his personal bests! He only ran 3:52 this year, but I'm hoping it was just an adjustment issue and with a year under his belt and maybe some more volume this fall, he can regain his 3:42 speed and become a strong 1500 runner for us! I can't find anything on his cross country efforts, but I'm hoping he can run well for us! I'm excited to see what he could do on the cross country course!

PR's
1500 - 3:42
3000 - 8:39
5000 - 14:41
taylorswift13_
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Also a cool account to follow for updates and shenanigans and cool moments from our distance squad is on this Instagram account!! It gives us an insight into their camaraderie and family style environment which attracts recruits!!

https://www.instagram.com/distancedispos?igsh=dnpvdnhjbHNyYW01
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Name: KATHERINE BRUNSON
Class: Freshman
Hometown: College Station, Texas
High School: College Station High School
Major: Public Health

Katherine Brunson is a local product based out of College Station High School! CSHS has produced some really talented distance runners the past few years such as: Kelsie Warren, Jon Bishop, Zephyr Seagraves, Siddharth Jayaraman, Joseph Benn, and last year we picked up Maddie Jones and Megan Roberts! If you look at Brunson's progress over the years, it's indicative of hard work and commitment! She competed at the 5A State cross country meet every single year earning an 18th place finish her junior year! She's a great late addition to a stellar class and her 17:54 5k track PR she hit senior year show me that she's barely scratching the surface of her potential!!! Also hopefully another steepler to our distance squad!!

PR's
800 - 2:22
1600 - 5:04
3200 - 11:09
5000 - 17:54
2000 Steeplechase - 7:51
5k xc - 18:32
taylorswift13_
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Name: ADDIE APPLEBAUM
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
High School: San Antonio Christian School
Major: Public Health

Now it's time to get into our redshirt freshman! We signed a large class last year and a fee of them got to redshirt! Addie is a 4 times TAPPS cross country state qualifier in cross country finishing 4th last season, and she is the 2023 TAPPS State Champion in the 1600/3200! The only thing about TAPPS is that they would only run a 2 mile race in cross country rather than the 5k most high school athletes run! So that adjustment is an extra hurdle for her! But tracking her progress throughout high school, she has a great work ethic! Club wise she ran for Celebrity Performance which is an excellent track club in the San Antonio area! On her commitment post she wrote, "Going to A&M has been a lifelong dream!"

PR's
400 - 1:04
800 - 2:23
1600 - 5:13
3200 - 11:30
5k xc - 19:18
6k xc - 23:12
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Name: JAMIE CONFER
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Hometown: Beavercreek, Ohio
High School: Beavercreek High School
Major: Ocean Engineering

Ohio to College Station! A town of 46,000 and home to the 70th mayor of Cincinnati and former Razorback distance star / racewalker Taylor Ewert! I am not sure what ties connects Beavercreek to College Station but I'm glad she's on our team! She was in a boot during track season so hopefully she's healed up and ready to run!! A 5:01 mile out of high school is impressive. I believe she'll specialize more in the 1500/mile range but I'm curious to see her cross country progress! Also ocean engineering is such a unique and cool major! I guess Ohio not having any oceans near it is why she left the state lol!

PR's
800 - 2:18
1600 - 5:01
3200 - 11:55
5k xc - 18:45
taylorswift13_
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Name: CARTER GORDY
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Hometown: Montgomery, Texas
High School: Lake Creek High School
Major: General Engineering

Carter Gordy is another redshirt freshman on the guys side! Hernandez was one of the top recruits in the 2023 class! His high school career is a pretty interesting one! He placed 12th at the cross country state meet 3 years in a row!! Maybe he was destined to come to the school known for the 12th man! I'll always root for him because while he was only a sophomore, I saw him run at the state meet and run his heart out in the mile leading the race till a few current D1 older guys caught him after finishing 4th in the 3200! Then he had an injury as a junior which caused him to miss his junior track season! He then recovered and made it to state in track his senior year and he was about to finally get on the podium in the 3200 but fell just before the finish line that adversity must have been rough, but to overcome that and continue working shows his character! He ran a great 25:20 unattached 8k and then ran well indoors for us and didn't get to race outdoors! A healthy Carter Gordy can really help this team and I'm excited to see what he runs this year!

PR's
1600 - 4:16
3200 - 9:14
5000 - 14:45
5k xc - 15:17
8k xc - 25:20
taylorswift13_
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Name: KRISTEN MCHUGH
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Hometown: Spring, Texas
High School: Klein High School
Major: Business Administration

Kristen McHugh redshirted her first year on campus after 4 years at Klein High School which has a very strong distance program! She competed at state in cross country 3 years placing 15th as a sophomore! And her PR that year was a 17:34 which helped her win regional as only a sophomore! Hopefully she can get back to that form after a redshirt year last season! And a fun fact is that she has 4 siblings and all are Aggies!!

PR's
800 - 2:24
1600 - 5:12
3200 - 10:59
5000 - 17:38
5k xc - 17:34
taylorswift13_
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Name: MEGAN ROBERTS
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Hometown: College Station, Texas
High School: College Station High School
Major: Business Administration

Another College Station product! Megan Roberts is a redshirt freshman as well coming out of the strong CSHS distance program! She as well competed at the 5A State Cross Country Meet every year in high school and due to her hard work earned a 7th place finish her senior year in a very top heavy loaded field! I'm excited to see how she progresses this year! It must feel great running with 2 other high school friends in Maddie Jones and Katherine Brunson! She also has a baking business and based on the photos, she is a top level baker!!! I'll add the link so if you're in the area you can check it out yourself and help an Aggie! https://www.instagram.com/risen_homemade?igsh=MTZyNnJma2g2NGw3Nw==


PR's
800 - 2:19
1600 - 5:07
3200 - 11:16
5000 - 18:00
2000 Steeplechase - 7:59
5k xc - 18:18
taylorswift13_
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Name: DIEGO HEREDIA
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
Hometown: Mission, Texas
High School: Sharyland High School
Major: Business

Next up on the guys side is another Rio Grande Valley product Diego Heredia! He's from Sharyland, Texas and my God father was his high school track coach lol! As a junior he qualified for the state track meet in the mile after a 4:18 mile and placed 6th at state in a race that featured 2 other Aggies as underclassmen Gordy and Gonzalez-Rodiles! He was always a stronger track runner, but after his stellar junior season, he injured himself during cross country of his senior year. It cut his senior xc season short and didn't allow him to run his last track season! He has recovered and did have a great meet at the Arturo Barrios Invite last year!! I'm excited to see what he can do this season! He also has a younger sister that's an Aggie!

PR's
1500 - 3:55
1600 - 4:21
5k xc - 16:06
8k xc - 25:24
taylorswift13_
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Name: AMANDA HOGAN
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
High School: Ursuline Academy
Major: Accounting

Next up we have redshirt sophomore Amanda Hogan from Dallas, Texas! And no this isn't Carrot Top's partner Amanda Hogan, this is cross country star Amanda Hogan!! After redshirting her first season, Amanda stepped up last season and ran extremely well for the Ags! She was a part of our top 7 and she got to compete at conference, regionals, and even nationals! Amanda comes from a prestigious prep school in Ursuline Academy, and like Applebaum, which competes in TAPPS. So she competitively ran only 2 miles! She qualified to state all 4 years, winning as a sophomore and placing 3rd a senior! She also competed at 5k meets where she ran a best of 17:43! She came in with a strong freshman class along with Kennady Fontenot, Emma Little, and Carson Parker! She's sparingly raced during track season but I'm sure that will not be the case this season! After losing Madison Brown and Katelyn Buckley, there will be a lot of competition to see who our top 7 will be! With Cherono, Leal, Peters, and Lees coming in our 1-7 will be undoubtedly stronger! I'm excited to see what Amanda Hogan does this season and if she takes another step up! She is also a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Aggie Catholic Church!

PR's
800 - 2:22
1600 - 5:06
3200 - 10:50
2 mile xc - 11:12
5k xc - 17:43
6k xc - 21:27
taylorswift13_
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Name: SHEWAYE JOHNSON
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Prosper, Texas
High School: Prosper High School
Major: General Studies

Another member of our 7 from last year, and even one of our scoring 5 is Shewaye Johnson of Prosper, Texas! Shewaye has an unbelievable and impressive freshman campaign for the Maroon and White! She made it known that she was going to be a contender and key component for our team her first race where she ran the 5k with Livingston, Brown, and Fontenot! She placed 48th at conference and 30th at regionals being our 4th runner to help our team score!! Shewaye was integral to our success and I'm expecting her to be just as valuable her sophomore year! 2 years ago in high school she placed 8th at state just behind San Juanita Leal and just ahead of Maddie Peters! But prior to her junior and senior year at Propser, she won state as a sophomore in Iowa! But what's most impressive is her story! I'll sum it up quickly but post an article about it! She was born in Ethiopia and lost her mother at very early age so she bounced around orphanages before being adopted and moving to the United States! It's just an example of her resilience and I'm glad she's found a home in Aggieland! I'm thankful she's here and can't wait to watch her run well again and help our Aggies get back to nationals!!! https://www.dallasnews.com/high-school-sports/other-sports/2022/09/07/prospers-shewaye-johnson-overcomes-life-hurdles-to-become-state-title-contender/

PR's
1600 - 4:57
3200 - 10:32
5k xc - 17:08
6k xc - 20:37
 
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