Texas Tech University Athletics
Murray Releases 2018 Cross Country Schedule
July 17, 2018 | Cross Country
Tech will compete in four regular season meets in 2018.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech head cross country coach Jon Murray announced Tuesday the release of the 2018 fall season schedule. He will have the Red Raiders running in four meets – one of which will be at home – in order to prepare for the Big 12 Championships.
The Red Raiders will begin their season at nearby Abilene Christian for the Abilene Christian Invitational on Sept. 1 before hosting the annual TTU Open two weeks later on Sept. 14.
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Speaking on the advantages of hosting a meet early in the year, Murray said, "The team really does enjoy being at home. They just love being here and running in Lubbock and having their friends and family come out and watch them. It's always a very positive experience and they run well. You get to sleep in your own bed and come out and race."
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After another two-week break, Tech will ship off to two large meets. The first trip they will make is up north for the Nuttycombe Invitational, which will be hosted by Wisconsin on Sept. 28. Their last tune-up before the conference meet will be in College Station, where they will compete at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational on Oct. 13.
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The Big 12 Championships are set to be held on Oct. 26 at Iowa State.
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"Both of the courses in Madison and College Station are similar to what we will see at Iowa State for the conference meet," said Murray. "That's kind of what we were looking for when we put that part of the schedule together. We wanted some similar races to get ready to do well at the Big 12 meet."
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The Red Raiders are coming off a 2017 campaign in which the men's team placed fifth at the Big 12 Championships. They will return three of last season's scorers, including their top finisher Joacim Zuniga. Zuniga, now a senior, placed 22nd with a personal-best 24:38.2. He will be joined by other returning scorers junior Nathan Gift (44th place) and redshirt sophomore Stephen Alvarez (48th).
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Perhaps the biggest returning piece will be Miguel Bautista, who, after taking a redshirt year, comes back for his senior season. Bautista finished runner-up at the Big 12 Championships in 2016. His 2016 campaign saw him place top-three in all five meets. Also joining the squad will be sophomore Cornelius Kiprotich. After arriving in Lubbock in January, he scored for the Red Raiders in both the DMR and mile at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships.
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"I'm excited," Murray said. "The majority of the core of the men's team is back. Having Miguel back after a redshirt year will make him better and it'll be tremendous from a leadership standpoint. Cornelius is adding more to the depth, too. They're going to take the spots of the people that left."
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The women's squad returns looking to improve upon their eighth-place conference finish from last fall. They are returning their top scorer, Nokuthla Dlamini, who finished 16th at the Big 12 meet with a PR 20:54.2.
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Newcomers to look for on the women's side include freshman Binta Ka and transfer Seselia Dala. Dala actually competed in Lubbock at the Matador Qualifier this past February while representing South Plains College. At the meet, Dala shattered the school record in the 5000m thanks to a 17:32.05, which also counted for the second-fastest time in the NJCAA last year.
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"We have eight new incoming athletes, so it'll be a bit of a new group there," said Murray. "But we'll have Nokuthla up front and two or three people around her who are going to make it exciting. Both teams are going to be better than last year."
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The Red Raiders will begin their season at nearby Abilene Christian for the Abilene Christian Invitational on Sept. 1 before hosting the annual TTU Open two weeks later on Sept. 14.
Â
Speaking on the advantages of hosting a meet early in the year, Murray said, "The team really does enjoy being at home. They just love being here and running in Lubbock and having their friends and family come out and watch them. It's always a very positive experience and they run well. You get to sleep in your own bed and come out and race."
Â
After another two-week break, Tech will ship off to two large meets. The first trip they will make is up north for the Nuttycombe Invitational, which will be hosted by Wisconsin on Sept. 28. Their last tune-up before the conference meet will be in College Station, where they will compete at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational on Oct. 13.
Â
The Big 12 Championships are set to be held on Oct. 26 at Iowa State.
Â
"Both of the courses in Madison and College Station are similar to what we will see at Iowa State for the conference meet," said Murray. "That's kind of what we were looking for when we put that part of the schedule together. We wanted some similar races to get ready to do well at the Big 12 meet."
Â
The Red Raiders are coming off a 2017 campaign in which the men's team placed fifth at the Big 12 Championships. They will return three of last season's scorers, including their top finisher Joacim Zuniga. Zuniga, now a senior, placed 22nd with a personal-best 24:38.2. He will be joined by other returning scorers junior Nathan Gift (44th place) and redshirt sophomore Stephen Alvarez (48th).
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Perhaps the biggest returning piece will be Miguel Bautista, who, after taking a redshirt year, comes back for his senior season. Bautista finished runner-up at the Big 12 Championships in 2016. His 2016 campaign saw him place top-three in all five meets. Also joining the squad will be sophomore Cornelius Kiprotich. After arriving in Lubbock in January, he scored for the Red Raiders in both the DMR and mile at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships.
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"I'm excited," Murray said. "The majority of the core of the men's team is back. Having Miguel back after a redshirt year will make him better and it'll be tremendous from a leadership standpoint. Cornelius is adding more to the depth, too. They're going to take the spots of the people that left."
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The women's squad returns looking to improve upon their eighth-place conference finish from last fall. They are returning their top scorer, Nokuthla Dlamini, who finished 16th at the Big 12 meet with a PR 20:54.2.
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Newcomers to look for on the women's side include freshman Binta Ka and transfer Seselia Dala. Dala actually competed in Lubbock at the Matador Qualifier this past February while representing South Plains College. At the meet, Dala shattered the school record in the 5000m thanks to a 17:32.05, which also counted for the second-fastest time in the NJCAA last year.
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"We have eight new incoming athletes, so it'll be a bit of a new group there," said Murray. "But we'll have Nokuthla up front and two or three people around her who are going to make it exciting. Both teams are going to be better than last year."
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