9-16-2025 4:27pm

Garcia Takes 5th at UIW Invitational

Dustin Terry Editor

Lions Compete at UIW Cross Country Invitational

The Texas A&M–Commerce Lions men’s and women’s cross country teams turned in solid performances at the University of the Incarnate Word Invitational, facing a strong field that included several NCAA Division I programs.

Men’s Results

Leading the way for the Lions was Garcia (Northwest Eaton), who posted a time of 19:45.2 in the four-mile race to finish fifth overall. His performance came against a field that featured five Division I teams outside of East Texas A&M.

As a team, the Lions finished sixth out of 13 programs with 157 points. Other top finishers included:

Josh Shanahan (Noosaville, Australia) – 16th place, 20:26
Yosef Abdulrazeq (Mansfield Legacy) – 27th place, 20:44
Taylor Warrick (Stockdale) – 52nd place, 21:19
Noah Fernandez (San Antonio Central Catholic) – 57th place, 21:28
Andrew Crosby (McKinney–Boyd) – 70th place, 22:16
Christian James (Rosharon–Manvel) – 75th place, 22:28

Host UIW claimed the team title with a score of 34, while Ian Rono of Texas A&M International took the individual crown in 18:45.

Women’s Results

On the women’s side, the Lions did not record a team score but had several strong individual efforts.

Haleigh Risner (Winnsboro) finished 34th in the 5K with a time of 19:17.7.
Mareva Heck (Marseille, France) followed in 43rd at 19:35.6.
Edith Martinez (Sulphur Springs) crossed in 48th at 19:45.9.
Aamarie Ebarb (Weslaco) rounded out the squad in 88th with 21:19.6.

The Texas Longhorns dominated the women’s race, claiming four of the top five spots and winning the team title with just 17 points. UTRGV placed second with 87. Elizabeth Pickett of Texas won the individual race in 17:10.