University of Houston
NCAA South Central Regional
Barraza Claims Gold at South Central Regional
11/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS -- Junior Brian Barraza added one more accolade to his already incredible Houston Cougar Cross Country career as he claimed victory at the 2015 NCAA South Central Regional in College Station, Texas, and punched his ticket to nationals for the second consecutive season.
"Brian ran a fantastic race," head cross country coach Steve Magness said. "He executed his entire race perfectly. He's the first regional champion we've had at Houston, so that's an incredible feat. What this also shows is that Brian is ready to go on and compete at the national level."
Barraza ran with the lead pack the entire way, and was right on the heels of the leader at the 9K mark. The El Paso, Texas native clocked a 30:07.3 to finish two seconds ahead of Lamar's Illias Aouani, who finished 30:09.9, and claim his third individual victory of the season.
Junior Maddie Brown finished as the Cougars top women's runner taking 56th in the women's 6K in 21:33.3. The Regional marks the sixth time this season that Brown has finished as Houston's top runner. Freshman Meredith Sorensen finished her first regional in 61st with a 21:38.2, while sophomore Ebony White placed 68th in 21:46.6. Sophomore Emely Morgado (22:28.9) and Jennifer Dunlap (22:39.3) finished 81st and 89th respectively to round out the Houston women's scoring.
The women finished in 12th place overall with 336 points, an improvement of six spots from the 2014 season.
"The women's race went really well," Magness said. "We redshirted two of our best runners before the season, and the women really stepped up. To have that happen and still improve five spots from last season's regional says that big things are coming from the women's team.
Alongside Barraza, senior James Broussard finished in 27th place in 31:16.3 as Houston's second best runner at the Regional, an improvement of more than 30 spots after finishing 59th at the 2014 Regional. Sophomore Blake Contreras took 49th in 31:48.2, while redshirt sophomore Chris Ibarra finished 104th in 33:10.2, and junior Edwin Munoz finished 106th (33:14.2) to round out the scoring for the Cougars.
The men totaled 287 points to finish in 10th place, an improvement from their 11th place finish in 2014.
"The men really stepped up as well," Magness said. "We had Yonas Tesfai go down with a calf strain, so to lose one of the top-10 from the conference meet is a blow, but James Broussard stepped up with a huge top-30 finish. James came in as a walk-on, so to go from walk-on to top-30 at the regional is incredible."
2015 RESULTS
Women -- 12th Place; 336 points
56. Maddie Brown -- 21:33.3
61. Meredith Sorensen -- 21:38.2
68. Ebony White -- 21:46.6
88. Emely Morgado -- 22:28.9
95. Jennifer Dunlap -- 22:39.3
99. Nikita Prasad -- 22:44.2
102. Britani Gonzales -- 22:49.5
Men -- 10th Place; 287 points
1. Brian Barraza -- 30:07.3
27. James Broussard -- 31:16.3
49. Blake Contreras -- 31:48.2
104. Chris Ibarra -- 33:10.2
106. Edwin Munoz -- 33:14.2
109. Yonas Tesfai -- 33:19.8
136. Gabe Lara -- 34:21.3
UP NEXT
Barraza has eight days to train before heading to the 2015 NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, Nov. 21. Barraza returns to the same course in Louisville where he ran a 23:42.4 to finish 25th at the Pre-National Meet on Oct. 17.
The NCAA Championship race will be a 10K and is scheduled to be run at 11 a.m.
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