The women’s cross-country team once again proved they’re a force to be reckoned with over the weekend at the Little Rock Invitational in Arkansas.

Junior Alexandria Hackett took her second first place victory of the season finishing in front of 91 runners. Teammate Diana Garcia-Munoz came in second in the non-team scoring meet.

Both girls posted quick times, with Hackett running 16:22 and Munoz posting a time of 16:53.

Michaela Hackett would come in next for the Wildcats, breaking into the top five with a fourth place finish. Freshman Carnley Graham and sophomore Bella Gutierrez would crack into the top 10 for ACU. A little further back but still within a close pack range, were 15th and 16th place finishers freshman Aubrey Till and senior Marina Guerrero, and sophomore Gabby Thompson, who claimed 24th place with her time of 18:41.6.

Though the meet was non-scoring, it’s easy to determine that ACU would’ve claimed a top two finish overall with the strong showing the women’s team had.

The men’s side also had good results with senior Daniel Block placing fourth with a season-best 8k time of 24:45. Sophomore Ryan Cleary once again finished as the second runner for the Wildcats, claiming a 12-place finish. Junior Sterlen Paul would be the only other runner for ACU to break into the top 25. Paul would finish 16.

Both teams had two weeks off before this weekend’s race, but the time off allowed them to have hard practices more frequently with a little bit longer recovery time. This weekends’ race proves that both sides are ready for the Conference Championships in two weeks.

Assistant head coach, Ray Walker said this meet was to allow the team to sharpen their skills and race tactics and it seems to have done just that.

The Southland Conference Championship meet is Friday, October 30 in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston State will host this year’s meet where both teams will look to clinch the first Southland champions title for ACU.