Cross Country Preview - West Texas A&M

By Don Garrett

2012 Cross Country Preview: West Texas A&M

WOMEN – the Lady Buffs made a run at the LSC championship last year, placing 2^nd overall to Midwestern’s juggernaut. And, they did this without their best runner, Aries Bazaldua, who was injured prior to the LSC meet. They lost one very good runner, but it looks like they may have brought in 2 pieces to the puzzle with international students.

LOST FROM LAST SEASON 

• ·         Aries Bazaldua did not run at the LSC XC meet in 2011, although she did run outdoors last spring and was 7^th in the 10K, after finishing 1^st in the 10K in 2010
• ·         Elizabeth Beltran – 7^th in the LSC XC meet after a transfer from El Paso CC in 2010
• ·         Lakeisha Johnson – 30^th in the LSC XC meet after a transfer from Odessa College

RETURNEES

• ·         Jessica Blakely –SR - 60^th in XC, she was 6^th in the LSC steeplechase and 10^th in the 1500 last spring on the track
• ·         Rhemecka Graham – So - I think she redshirted in XC, but last spring she was 7^th in the LSC 800 to pick up an All-Conference honor as a true freshman
• ·         Emma Love – So – 19^th in XC, she only had a disappointing 14^th in the 1500 on the track
• ·         Amber Moore – Jr – a strong 11^th in XC, she turned around and placed 4^th in the LSC 1500 and just missed scorin the 5K as she finished 9^th
• ·         Brenda Sindet – Sr – after finishing 20^th in XC last fall, she was probably the most improved runner  in the entire LSC as she finishing 3^rd in both the steeple and 5K, plus a 7^th in the 1500 – a huge 18 points
• ·         Haley Sparks – So – 38^th in XC, then 11^th in the 10K in Commerce last spring
• ·         Taylor Sparks – RS-Fr – she redshirted in XC, then almost scored at the LSC meet as she got 9^th in the steeple

NEWCOMERS

• ·         Mirela Guarner – Catalonia, Spain - did not find anything specifically, but she ran well in their first meet of the year at altitude in Alamosa, CO
• ·         Cristina Saladrich – Barcelona, Spain - found some times in the 1500 that were pretty solid

MEN – the Buffs finished a disappointing 5^th last year, 6 points behind Angelo and 4 points in front of Tarleton. They cut ties with some of their runners who had eligibility left, but the replacements look solid. WTAMU should field a very competitive team in 2012.

LOST FROM LAST SEASON (with last season’s place in parentheses)

• ·         Aaron Castro (33^rd) – did not run last spring on the track
• ·         Michael Janousek (68^th) – injured and unable to continue his collegiate career
• ·         Tyler Nolan (52^nd) – disappointing addition from Canada does not appear to be back this year
• ·         Jacob Villareal (37^th) – 11^th on the track in the 10K after a transfer from El Paso CC

RETURNEES

• ·         Dylan Doss (7^th) – the Water Valley grad had a stunningly good LSC meet last spring – 1^st in the steeple and 3^rd in both the 1500 and the 5K. Doss returns this season as one of the premier distance runners in the LSC.
• ·         Alexander Korn (46^th) – after a mediocre XC season, Korn had a great meet last spring, winning the LSC 800
• ·         Martin Puga (67^th) – he was also 13^th in the LSC 800
• ·         Patrick Scheuchzer (37^th) – very disappointing first year for the Swiss runner as he only finished 18^th in the 1500 on the track

NEWCOMERS

• ·         Lucas Marquez – freshman from Andrews – in 3A, he was 9^th in the XC meet last fall, then backed that up by finishing 3^rd in the 1600 and 4^th in 3200. Son of Ricky Marquez, one of the great small town distance runners in Texas HS history with 4 state mile championships for Sanderson
• ·         Hugo Aguinaga – junior from Dumas and Western Texas College – 71^st in the JC XC in 2011, he qualified for the JC national track meet in the 10K, finishing 16^th
• ·         Baptiste Moreu – junior from La Rochelle, France – did not find anything on him
• ·         Merritt Vaughn – freshman from Amarillo Tascosa – 105^th in the 5A XC meet last fall, then 2^nd in the District 2-5A 800
• ·         Jonathan Flores – Jr from El Paso Irvin and El Paso CC – 49^th in the JC XC, finishing well ahead of his new teammate, Aguinaga