This Saturday's Texas State Invitational will be the first big test for the new members of this year's women's cross country team and a "welcome back" for some returnees. The coaches like to use the Invitational, always the first meet of the season, to give freshmen their first college race experience.
"You put on a Texas uniform and things change," assistant coach Stephen Sisson said. "It's one thing to do the training in a positive, friendly, environment; it's another thing altogether to get into a race … where things are more competitive, and I'm interested to see how they respond to that."
Some of the fresh faces running for Texas include Julie Amthor and Lale Mojtabaeezamani. Amthor ran last year for Smithson Valley High School, where she won the 1,600-meter race at the Division-5A state meet and was a top-10 finisher in the 5A cross country race. She's better known as a middle distance runner, but coach Sisson is expecting good results from her as the season goes on.
Mojtabaeezamani is from Keller High and also finished in the top 10 at the 5A state meet in cross country. She is expected to be a major contributor to the team this season.
"We're expecting her to do well and hoping that she'll round into good shape as the season goes on," Sisson said.
In addition to the incoming freshmen, senior Larkin Geyer will be running for Texas for the first time since last season's NCAA regional cross country meet. Geyer spent spring semester, when track season occurs, studying abroad in Spain and is looking to get her "running wheels back on."
The meet will be held at Gary Job Corp, near San Marcos, on Saturday morning. Texas runners will be racing against Texas State, UTSA and Trinity, among others.
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