TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler cross country will begin their season with the second annual UT Tyler Cross Country Opener hosted at Texas Rose Horse Park on September 6^th.
 
A LOOK BACK
 
Last season the Patriots men finished sixth at the LSC Championships and went on to finish 18^th in the NCAA South Central Regionals. David Soto represented the program as an All-LSC performer, becoming the second athlete in program history to be a two-time All-LSC honoree.
 
On the women's side, the Patriots placed 8^th in the LSC Championships, their highest placement in program history. They went on to finish 16^th at the NCAA South Central Regionals, again posting their best finish at that event in program history.
 
SOTO'S LEADERSHIP
 
"There's no question that David Soto is the leader of that distance group and he pretty much has set the tone for them," head coach David Kaiser said. "The one thing that is great about his leadership is that he leads by example and he'll hold kids accountable if they're not holding up their deal. He, personally, wants to be to be the best and he'll push himself through workouts to do that, but I think most importantly he wants our team to be good. We have not had that type of leadership in that group for a long time and it's really energizing to have that presence with us now."
 
DENNEY AND COGBURN LEAD THE WAY
 
"Kailynn (Denney) and Macy (Cogburn) have been such wonderful additions to our women's side. Both have gone through some struggles and setbacks, but they just keep working. I am so proud of them, and they deserve all the success in the world. They have earned it no question. Their growth as runners this past year has been fun to watch, but their growth as people is equally impressive. Their resilience over the past year will most certainly help our team this year, along with the leadership of Finley Hunting and Elyana Metzger, our women's team is primed to turn the corner.
 
HOSTING THE UT TYLER CROSS COUNTRY OPENER
 
"We are certainly looking forward to hosting the cross-country opener for the second straight year at the Texas Rose Horse Park. Coach Shepherd has done a wonderful job putting together a 5K and 8K course that will really give the runners a sense of true cross country. This course is set up much different than most of the courses that we get to run that are 2000 m loops around a golf course or a park. This race will set us up nicely for the challenges that we have ahead at Oklahoma State and at Texas A&M later.   At last count, I believe that we'll have somewhere between 10 and 15 college teams competing as well as several East Texas high school varsity and junior varsity teams, which should prove to be a really fun event."
 
THE FALL SLATE
 
"Coach Shepherd has put together a meet schedule that we believe tells a story about the type of cross team we want to be. We want our team to be challenged and for them to see firsthand what it's like to run at the absolute highest level. Texas A&M and Oklahoma State most certainly do that for us. The DBU Old Glory Gallup will be held at the AP Ranch in Fort Worth, which is different in years past. Because of that, we do feel it's important that we get a chance to get on the Lone Star conference championship course ahead of time. Again, it's a different course, different set up, different environment so I think for the kids to be able to get a sense of what that course looks like how it feels how it runs will be super important for our success at the championships later this year. 
 
Following the Patriots opening meet at the UT Tyler Cross Country Opener on September 6^th, the Patriots will take on a pair of Division I meets in the Texas A&M Invitational on September 13^th and the OSU Cowboy Jamboree on September 26^th.
 
Following those meets, the Patriots will take on the DBU Old Glory Gallup at AP Ranch in Fort Worth, Texas on October 11^th, which also doubles as the site for the Lone Star Conference Championships on October 25^th.
 
The postseason continues with the NCAA South Central Regional Championships at Pueblo Country Club in Pueblo, Colorado on November 8^th. The NCAA Division II National Championships will take place at Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin on November 22^nd.