JR Sandie Raines (15:48 5K; 25th South Central XC ’14)

JR Katie Ruhala (16:44 5K; 35:22 10K; 19th South Central XC ’14)

JR Katie Burford (4:25 1500; 38th South Central XC ’14)

SO Samantha Young (68th South Central XC ’14)

SO Mary Beth Hamilton (4:27 1500; 58th South Central XC ’14)

Alex Cruz via Edinburg, TX (4:54 1600; 10:59 3200; 87th NXN '14)
Meghan Lloyd via Keller, TX (10:38 3200)
Jordan Welborn via Lumberton, TX (10:55 3200)

Although Texas failed to qualify to the NCAA Outdoor Championships last year, an emerging group of individuals as well as more experienced veterans should help guide the Longhorns back to the Big Dance. 

 

The biggest emergence from the Texas Longhorn squad in 2015 has been the growth of transfer student Sandie Raines. Although she raced as Texas’ No. 2 runner semi-consistently in the 2014 cross country season, Raines made an immediate impact on the track with an All American finish in the 5K at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a 12th-place finish in the 5K at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She emerged with personal bests in everything from the 1500m to the 5K in the spring, most notably with a 15:48 5K personal best at the Stanford Invitational. 

 

Depth to the squad will be added by returning juniors Katie Ruhala and Katie Burford, and returning sophomores Samantha Young and Mary Beth Hamilton. Ruhala is returning from a spring season that saw a lot of growth, including a 5K personal best of 16:44 and her first ever 10K performance (35:22) at the Stanford Invitational. Burford returns to the cross country course after posting a personal best in the 1500m at the Big 12 Championships and competing at the NCAA West Preliminary round. 

 

After redshirting the track season, Young returns to improve upon her 68th-place finish at the South Central Regional, and will be joined by Hamilton who posted personal bests in both the 800m and 1500m in the spring. 

 

With a slew of emerging and untapped talent, the Texas Longhorns have a real shot at making their way back to the NCAA Cross Country Championships as a team for the first time since 2011.