HOUSTON – The University of St. Thomas cross country teams opened their 2019 seasons Friday at the 44th Annual Rice Invitational Cross Country Meet.
In a field filled with NCAA Division I programs, UST's Lucas Wolf (FR/Katy, Texas) was the first Celt across the finish line in the men's race. His time of 21 minutes, 38.89 seconds was good for 54th place out of 83 runners.
Oscar Padilla (SO/Houston, Texas) and Alonzo Corral (FR/Pasadena, Texas) were the next Celts across the finish line. Padilla (62nd) finished with a time of 21:58.02, while Corral (65th) was just behind him with a time 22:04.70.
Michael Skinner (SO/Houston, Texas) (23:36.50) and Alexander Guevara (SO/Houston, Texas) (23:57.55) rounded out UST's team score. Jonathon Blanco (FR/Houston, Texas) (27:00.55) also competed for the Celts.
The Celts finished in 10th place as a team; UST was the only team in the event that does not compete in the NCAA's Division I.
On the women's side, UST's Grace Ringen (SO/San Antonio, Texas) recorded a Top 50 finish, finishing 50th with a time of 16:06.24.
Cassidy Litten (FR/Belfry, Mont.) (66th, 18:03.61) and Faith Crayton (SR/Spring, Texas) (67th, 18:16.26) were the next two Celts across the finish line. Sophia Sanchez (FR/Houston, Texas) also completed the race for the Celts, finishing with a time of 19:44.34.
The Celts men's and women's teams return to action Friday, Sept. 27, when they compete at the Concordia Cross Country Classic in Round Rock, Texas.
