Neiva, Lopez de Escalera Lead Mean Green to Record Day at Arturo Barrios

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Victor Neiva and Ximena Lopez de Escalera led the way for the UNT cross country teams on a day that multiple runners made their mark on the program record book at the Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station, Texas.

"I thought we were really solid on both sides today," head coach Erik Stevens said. "They approached everything with the belief that I've been trying to get the crew to have, and they went out and executed to their abilities and fitness. I was very pleased with our performances up front and I know the gap will tighten up as we get into the postseason."

Lopez de Escalera was one of four women to record a time that now sits in the top 10 of the all-time performances list in the women's 6K. The sophomore's time of 20:16.7 is the second-fastest time in program history behind Susannah Lynch's 20:03.7 in 2017. Betty Bajika clocked a 20:44.9, while London Culbreath ran a 20:52.5, which mark the fifth and sixth best times in the event. Trinity Trotter was the final member of the group to crack the top 10 with a time of 21:12.0 that lands at No. 10 on the list.

It wasn't just the top finishers who had a good day for the Mean Green women, who finished 15^th in the team standings. Nine of the 10 ladies who competed clocked personal bests, including freshman Ella Bengtsson who improved her personal best time by three minutes.

Meanwhile, the UNT men had a similarly successful performance in the 8K that kicked off the meet Friday morning. Neiva led the group with a 30^th-place finish and a time of 23:30.4, which is the second fastest time in program history behind his own record from last season's AAC Championships. The senior now owns three of the four fastest times in the men's 8K in school history, in addition to the school record in the 10K.

Connor Bartek was second to finish among the North Texas men with a personal best time of 24:08.8 that makes him the eighth-best performer in the event in school history. Behind him were Iain Salter and Matthew Norton who clocked personal bests with times of 24:12.9 and 24:18.4, respectively.

The UNT men also received solid performances from a trio of freshmen that each broke 25 minutes in the 8K for the first time in their careers. David Kalwahali crossed the line in 24:22.3 to place 126^th, while Joseph Wienen and Nolan House finished close behind in 132^nd and 138^th.

In total, the six finishers behind Neiva all recorded personal bests in the race en route to a 16^th-place team finish ahead of regionally ranked teams Lamar, Rice, Sam Houston State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTA.

"This time of year is all about approaching things with confidence and executing the things that we need to do, so I was very pleased with the day," Stevens said.

The Mean Green will look to carry this momentum into their postseason races beginning with the American Athletic Conference Championships in Wichita, Kan., on Nov. 2.

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Neiva, Lopez de Escalera Lead Mean Green to Record Day at Arturo Barrios

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Players Mentioned

Betty Bajika

Connor Bartek

Ella Bengtsson

London Culbreath

Nolan House

David Kalwahali

Ximena Lopez de Escalera

Victor Neiva

Matthew Norton

Iain Salter

Trinity Trotter

Joseph Wienen

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