University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Open 2015 with HBU Quad Meet
9/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
HOUSTON -- The Houston Cougar men's and women's cross country programs kick off the 2015 season with a quad meet hosted by Houston Baptist University at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 3 at McGregor Park.
Houston will compete against the host school Houston Baptist, along with Sam Houston State and Texas Southern in a three-mile race for the men, and a two-mile race for the women beginning with the women at 6:30 p.m., followed by the men beginning immediately after.
The Cougars open competition at the HBU meet for the second consecutive season, after competing in the HBU Dual Meet Opener last season. The Cougar men swept HBU and Sam Houston State (26-29, 23-32) while the women defeated the Huskies (16-40), but fell to Sam Houston State (31-24). Then-freshman Janae Bottoms took home the individual championship for the women after running the rain-shortened 2-mile race in 11:46, while then-junior James Broussard took home the men's championship in 9:47.
Broussard returns for the Cougars along with a heap of talent from the 2014 squad that saw the Cougar men finish third and the Cougar women sixth at The American Athletic Conference Championships. Houston returns 16 letterwinners from the 2014 squad along with veteran senior Yonas Tesfai, who returns after redshirting the entire season due to injury.
Houston's top returner for the men in 2015 is Brian Barraza, who has seen nothing but success in his first two seasons with the Cougars. Barraza became Houston's first NCAA Championship qualifier since 2011 (Wesley Ruttoh) after placing fourth at the NCAA South Central Regional a year ago. The El Paso, Texas native was Houston's top finisher in five of the six team meets in 2015 including four top-5 finishes.
Ebony White returns for the women's squad fresh off her 16th place finish at The American Athletic Conference Championships a year ago. White burst onto the scene after claiming first place in her collegiate debut at the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islander Splash last September. White was the Cougars' top finisher in four meets last season.
The Cougars added six freshman on the women side, including Bellaire Episcopal HS product Jahnavi Schneider, who was named as the No. 3 recruit in the state of Texas by TXRunning.Com. The men's team added Division I transfer Edwin Munoz (SFA) and four incoming freshman to round out its recruiting class. Burkburnett, Texas native Kody Anderson will look to make an immediate impact for Houston after claiming the Texas 4A State Cross Country Championships in 2014.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Following the 2014 season, the Cougar Men's Cross Country team was honored by the NCAA for perfect Academic Progress Report Scores with the NCAA Public Recognition Award. The award marked the second straight year the men have been honored for ranking among the top-10 percent of all cross country programs in APR.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
Following the HBU Season Opener, the Cougars head across town to compete against crosstown rival Rice at the 2015 Rice Invitational. The invitational is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., on Friday, Sept. 11.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow Houston Cross Country on Twitter @UHCougarXC and "Like" /HoustonCougarCrossCountry on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
