SAN MARCOS, Texas – Megan Ombres and Daniela Wisniewski finished top-10 as individuals and freshman Justin Wagner had the best time among the Bobcat men as Texas State cross country opened the 2022 season with the UIW Twilight Invitational on Friday night at McAllister Park in San Antonio.
 
Ombres finished a team-best seventh with a time of 14:57.3 in the women's 4K – only three seconds outside of fourth place – while Wisniewski ran 15:02.5 to place ninth. For both Ombres and Wisniewski, it was their best placing in a college cross country race in their careers.
 
Freshman Abigail Parra finished 27th after running 15:47.6 in her Texas State debut.
 
"The ladies showed us how hard they are willing to compete to do well," said Texas State assistant coach, cross country Stefan Campos. "They did a great job and exceeded our expectations. We have great leadership in the upperclassmen, and freshmen that don't want to lose."
 
Wagner, meanwhile, in his first college race ran 19:48.7 to pace the men's team and finish 32nd in the 6K race.
 
"The men competed well and we are glad to see where they are at," added Campos. "It was exciting to see them race against other athletes to see how hard they are willing to push themselves."
 
Other men's competitors for the Bobcats included Franco Melhado (38th, 19:56.4), Dylan Pitts (44th, 20:10.9), Ismael Hernandez (50th, 20:28.3), Santos Flores (55th, 20:46.8), Evan Likins (64th, 21:20.3), and Ryan Grunwald (80th, 22:22.7). It was the Texas State debut for freshmen Wagner, Hernandez, Flores, Likins, and Grunwald.
 
The men's team finished seventh as a group with an average time of 20:13.
 
The Bobcats will next compete at the Texas A&M Invitational on September 16 in College Station.