TCU Cross Country Men's and Women's Finish Second At UTA Meet

Gracie Morris Wins UTA Season Opener

TCU Athletics

The Horned Frogs have a steady pace that continues to build as they make a name for themselves in the cross-country ranks. The Horned Frogs continue have dominating team performances as they continue establish this sport.

Both the men's and women's cross country teams placed second at the UTA Season Opener on Saturday Morning in Arlington, Texas. Gracie Morris won the race with her time of 17:11.5.

The Frogs picked up four total Top 10 finishes on the women's side. Mariana Martinez continued her successful season with a sixth-place finish (18:21.1) and Erica Francesconi took ninth (18:29.7. Jenna Buchanan finished 10th with a time of 18:37.3.

Assistant Coach Roger Cooke talked about how his team is on a level of wanting, but still have to put some pieces together. 

Coach Cooke said, "Overall, the effort and the want is there and that is something that I'm extremely excited about. The ladies went out there with a mission. Same with the men, they went out there a little bit more shy than we needed to, but Stone Burke really put himself in a position to get the win. Overall, it's a positive step in the right direction."

Yet Coach Cooke was pleased with Morris performance as he stated, "What is there not to like about Gracie Morris? She has a very level head and she goes into every race with that eye of the tiger mentality – she wants to win. She's setting herself up for a very special season and if we keep her moving in the right direction, Gracie is going to take care of the rest."

On the men's side, Stone Burke raced to a sixth-place overall finish and was the first Frog to cross the finish line (15:29.6). Finn Riley took 10th overall (15:55.4) and William Kirk placed 11th (15:56.8).

This is the second consecutive race the women's team has finished in the top two spots. At the ACU Naimadu Classic on Sept. 2, the Frogs won the meet with a team total of 41 points. Morris led the way for the Frogs in Abilene as well with a third-place finish.

---

Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!

Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.