The ACU cross country team’s ranking came out as the Wildcats finished their first meet of the season.

The 2021 NCAA south regional rankings left the women’s team at tenth-place and the men’s at fourteenth-place. However, head coach Jarvis Jelen said they know they are better than where they were ranked.

“Some of our men worked really hard this summer, and their results showed that,” said Jarvis. “As we go forward, we can keep getting better.”

At the Aggie Classic, the men’s team finished runner-up to the Texas A&M Aggies. Jelen said they got to keep doing what they are doing and work hard.

One notable performance at the Aggie Classic was junior Levi Chambers from Evans, Colorado, who finished sixteenth out of 67 runners in the men’s division.

“It was a base point for where we want to be for the conference,” said Briahna Gerlach, a graduate student from Gakona, Alaska. “I think the fact that we were all able to have a solid meet at the beginning, go out there and compete was really good.”

The women’s team placed fourth, with Gerlach placing eleventh out of 64 runners.

Gerlach is the only senior running this year for the ACU cross country team. In the years past, Gerlach placed fourteenth in the Southland Conference in 2020 and first-team All-Southland Conference with fourth-place in 2019.

“The environment, we just have fun with it; it’s so cool seeing the younger classmen being so enthusiastic about the sport,” said Gerlach. “This year, out of all the years I’ve been here, I feel like everyone genuinely loves running and loves the sport, which makes a huge difference.”

Jelen said these races are in preparation for the end of the year at the conference meet. 

The Wildcats will be returning home to host the ACU Naimadu Classic at their cross country course on Sept. 18. Jelen said he is excited to host Baylor along with all the other schools they will compete against.