Men's Cross Country Begin Competing for 2024 Season

Snyder, TX - Men's cross country starts running in late August for the 2024 season. 

After a successful 2023 campaign, Head Coach James Williams, Assistant Coach Stefan Campos and the rest of the men's cross country team is prepared for the new season. The Westerners have two returning runners in Rodolfo Juarez and Benjamin Rubio. Rubio is fresh off a very impressive freshman showing. In 2023, the runner was All-Conference for Western Texas College and All-Region for Region V. He placed 7th with a time of 24:56 in the NJCAA Region V Championship and participated in the Cross Country Individual National qualifier.  

The program is excited to see the future of the many newcomers to the squad. John Abalos graduated from Midland Legacy High School. The runner competed in the UIL 6A Area 3200m qualifier and regional cross country qualifier. He also participated in the 2023 AAU Junior Olympic Games national qualifier for the 1500m and 3,000m. Ricardo Chacon from Donna North High School also looks very promising as a new member. He was the runner up in the 2024 UIL 5A District 32 3200m race. At the 2023 5A District 32 cross country competition he was runner up and finished 8th at the Region 4 Cross Country Championships. 

Though the team lost two of their best runners from the prior season, it was due to their great success. Naataanii Collins and Jeremiah Rodriguez are sophomore transfers that will be competing for four year universities this upcoming season. Collins will be attending the Texas A&M University Commerce and Rodriguez will be attending McMurry University. Head Coach Williams and the rest of his staff is incredibly excited for the future of his team and the successes that the 2024 season will bring. 

UP NEXT: Men's cross country will begin at home for the Western Texas College Open on Friday, August 23rd.

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