Walton, Laktasic Lead XC at Bear Twilight

Friday, August 30

Waco, Texas

7:00 p.m. CT

Baylor

Bear Twilight Invitational

Walton, Laktasic Lead XC at Bear Twilight

8/30/2019 10:27:00 PM | Cross Country

Women's Results Men's Results

Baylor recorded runner-up finishes in both the men's and women's races.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Connor Laktasic likes being able to look around and see other Baylor runners wearing the green singlets.

The Texas men's cross country team dominated the Bear Twilight as expected, taking the top seven spots and winning the meet with 15 points. But, Laktasic led a contingent of Baylor runners that took five of the next seven spots as the Bears placed second in their season-opening home meet Friday night at the Heart of Texas Soccer Complex.

"We have better depth than we've had the past couple years," said Laktasic, whose eighth-place time of 18:25.6 was actually 10 seconds faster than last year's race when he covered the 6,000-meter course in 18:35.3. "It's awesome to see those guys next to you as you're running, looking around and being able to see some green. We trained through this race. So, for us to be able to come out and compete like we did is a good thing to see."

Baylor's women also placed second in a five-team division despite holding out "two or three, maybe four, that I would expect to be in my top five," coach Jon Capron said. Texas placed 12 runners in the top 15 and won the meet with 21 points, followed by the Bears with 58, UTA (99), TCU (103) and SMU (104).

"The ladies have a little more depth, which it's going to be fun to see what they can do with that. But, it was fun to see the freshmen say, 'Why not me?''' Capron said. "It's hard to see (which teams are) running full strength, but I was really pleased with both teams. I challenged the younger crew like, 'Hey, if there's a hole, I want you to step into it.' And the ones that took that on were great."

Senior Lindsay Walton, who was 16^th overall and fifth on Baylor's team at last year's Bear Twilight, shaved more than a minute off her time and placed third in the 4,000-meter women's race in 13:36.4. Walton was step-for-step with the Texas duo of Destiny Collins and Kathryn Gillespie until they pulled away in the last half-mile, with Collins winning in 13:17.5.

"That was a big step for her," Capron said of Walton. "Again, we don't know who was at full gas, but for Lindsay to be running with Destiny Collins is a big deal. And it's one of those cool stories, because a ton of that is just on her work ethic and getting it done over the summer. She's definitely elevated herself."

Coming into the race, Walton said she wasn't really thinking about her competition, "I was just focused on getting a good, solid performance out of myself." But, when she saw Collins "right out of the gate," she felt like it was a pace she could keep up with, "so I figured I would stay with them as long as I could and they pulled away a little at the end. But, it was a good path for a long time."

Sophomore Celia Holmes was Baylor's second scoring runner and 13^th overall at 14:10.2, followed by senior Haley Everroad (19^th, 14:29.1), sophomore Sadie Hamrin (23^rd, 14:38.4) and freshman Chloe Gangnath (24^th, 14:39.7). Among the group held out were junior Sarah Antrich and seniors Gabby Satterlee and Hana Marsheck.

"We were missing some of our top girls, so depth-wise we were not where we should be or where we will be at the next meet," Walton said. "But, the freshmen got out and had a good performance. That's just a good way to break in the season and break in their careers."

On the men's side, junior TJ Sugg was 10^th at 18:38.9, followed closely by freshman Ryan Hodge (11^th, 18:44.9), sophomore Ryan Day (12^th, 18:45.9) and senior Matt Henderson (14^th, 18:57.0). The Longhorns' Sam Worley won the men's race in 18:00.1.

"It's always fun to race against people at the top of their class," Laktasic said of a Longhorn team that is ranked second in the NCAA South Central Region. "It pulls you along and makes you better. I always love to race them."

After taking next weekend off, the Bears will head down Highway 6 to compete in the Texas A&M Invitational on Sept. 13 in College Station.

WACO, Texas – Lindsay Walton and Connor Laktasic recorded personal-best times to place third and eighth in their respective races and lead Baylor cross country to a pair of runner-up finishes Friday night at the Bear Twilight Invitational at the Heart of Texas Soccer Complex.

"Lindsay Walton elevated herself completely, which was amazing to see," Baylor associate head coach Jon Capron said. "I'm so happy for her. A lot of that was just hard work on her part and believing she could be there. To see her do it is awesome. The fact that Lindsay was up there means she belongs with whoever she decides she wants to run with, and that's super encouraging for us. I have other girls that have the capacity to do that, and they just need to see somebody like Lindsay do it first and say, 'wait, I can do that too.' If we can all do that we're going to be pretty good, which is fun."

Walton, a senior from Peoria, Ill., bested her PR in the 4K by over a minute with a time of 13:36.4 to finish in third place. Celia Holmes placed 13^th with a time of 14:10.2, Haley Everroad finished 19^th with a time of 14:29.1, Sadie Hamrin took 23^rd at 14:38.4, and Chloe Gangnath (14:39.7) placed 24^th to round out the scoring for the Baylor women's team. The Bears finished with 58 points to place second behind Texas (21 points).

"I'm super pleased with the ladies," Capron said. "We had a few that weren't running. We were saving them for later, basically. We really challenged some of the girls to say, 'hey if there's a hole in front of you, step into it.' They really did, and I'm impressed with their assertiveness. That's the attitude I want to foster and that's really what I'm looking for. I was super pumped to be able to see that in a race off the bat. We were touching speeds today that maybe we haven't gotten to just yet, and their comfort in doing that and trying to cover it up at the end was great. To see them achieving all those goals in one race was great."

Laktasic led a men's effort that saw all five scoring runners finish in the top-14. He edged his previous personal record in the 6K by 10 seconds to clock in at 18:25.6 and place eighth. TJ Sugg was right behind in 10^th place (18:38.9), followed by Ryan Hodge in 11^th (18:44.9), Ryan Day in 12^th (18:45.9), and Matt Henderson in 14^th (18:57.0). The Bears registered 50 points as a team, second behind Texas at 15 points.

"That's where I want Connor," Capron said. "I want him stepping into that spot, and I want him leading this team. For him and TJ to kind of get there, and for Hodge to be brave enough to be in the mix too. TJ had a little bit more in the tank. He wasn't feeling too hot the beginning of today so I gave him permission to hang back a little bit before he hit the gas. Hodge, from not even getting to run this race last year to his first cross country race in a Baylor jersey – to be that assertive and expect himself to be in that pack was great to see.

"Ryan Day did a great job coming home," Capron added. "He was running against guys that I recruited that maybe ended up at other schools. To see him racing toe-to-toe with some of those guys - a guy that literally walked on - I'm so delighted that he's able to work himself up to that level."

With a solid performance to open things up at home, Baylor now looks ahead to the Texas A&M Invitational Sept. 13 in College Station.

"I know that there's more capacity on this team," Capron said. "I know the girls that weren't racing today were a little sad that they didn't get to pull that jersey on. They're going to do everything in their power to be with their team and run fast and be ready to go when the time comes. First things first, we need to be ready in November, not August. We'll take the time, do it the right way and make sure that we're ready to go when it matters."

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