TYLER, Texas – The UT Tyler men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2025 season in dominant fashion on Saturday morning, sweeping the team titles at the UT Tyler Cross Country Opener at the Texas Rose Horse Park.
The Patriot women captured their second straight victory at this event, scoring just 17 points compared to the runner-up's 75. UT Tyler placed six of the top seven finishers in the women's 5K, led by junior Kailynn Denney, who claimed the individual title in 19:02.44. Denney's performance was over a minute faster than her time from last year's meet, where she placed fourth.
Freshman Adison Richard had a standout debut, finishing second in 19:11.90, while junior Gracie Ladner crossed third in 19:16.84. Sophomore Macy Cogburn (5th, 19:29.71), junior Finley Hunting (6th, 19:31.88), and freshman Giselle Alejandro (7th, 19:45.37) all finished inside the top seven to round out the Patriots' scoring lineup. Which means they had SIX of the top SEVEN finishes individually to cruise to a repeat at this event.
On the men's side, the Patriots also delivered a statement win, scoring 24 points to comfortably secure first place after finishing second in the same meet a year ago. Junior David Soto repeated as the individual champion, running 25:47.57 in the 8K race to win by a full 11 seconds. Soto has now claimed back-to-back individual titles at this meet where he claimed his first individual title last year.
The Patriots also received strong contributions from a balanced lineup that featured both veterans and underclassmen. Freshman Grayson Williams made an immediate impact with a fourth-place finish in 26:03.37, while junior Austin Ponder (6th, 26:42.65) and sophomore Chris Kopecky (7th, 26:49.64) provided steady performances. Freshman Isaiah Colorado rounded out the top five in ninth at 27:02.96. Two more freshmen, Andres Rios (10th, 27:03.99) and Kason Miles (12th, 27:06.22), added to the Patriots' strong showing as seven runners finished in the top 12 overall.
Both teams will look to continue these performances next weekend as they will head off to College Station to take part in the Texas A&M Invitational.
