BLINN CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

Blinn College men’s and women’s cross country head coach Jesse Parker set modest goals for the Buccaneers’ inaugural 2024 season. 

“We want to be ranked at some point in the season, and we want to run well enough where we feel good about competing in the national meet in November,” Parker said before his teams’ first meet of last season. 

The Buccaneers exceeded those expectations in record time, as they defeated NCAA Division I level teams from the outset, cracked the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings shortly after their first meet, and went on to compete in both the men’s and women’s national cross country and half-marathon event. 

Now, with the Stormy Seas Opener set for Saturday in Georgetown, Texas, the Buccaneer men and women begin the 2025 season ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, in the USTFCCCA’s NJCAA Division I poll. 

Blinn has also almost doubled the size of both its men’s and women’s rosters, adding more talent and depth with bigger goals on the horizon this fall.  

“Last year was a journey; I liken it to the Oregon Trail and being on this group expedition as we set out on this new adventure,” Parker said. “Now we’re a seasoned team with athletes who have gone down this path before and have the experience to do it all over again, potentially with even better results.” 

The Bucs will race a total of four fall meets which will once again include teams from the NCAA Division I, II and II levels, as well as programs from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Those meets include a return to the Texas A&M Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13, in College Station, Texas, a race made up mostly of NCAA Division I teams. Blinn also will host the NJCAA Region XIV meet on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Brenham High School in Brenham, Texas. Winning the region meet is among Parker’s list of goals for both of his teams. 

The Blinn men carry a roster of 16 runners (compared to 10 in 2024), including returners Eric Lagat, Joseph Villegas, Christan Gonzalez, and Fernando Garza. Each of those runners competed in the national meets for the Bucs in 2024, as the team placed 20th out of 28 teams. 

With a bigger roster, the competition and expectations have increased for a men’s squad eyeing a bigger splash nationally. 

“We’re going to see a lot of the same courses that we ran last year, so we have the experience and the knowledge to be better at every meet, and to pass on to our new guys how to be successful at those meets,” Villegas said. “We think we can use that to have a better overall season, and that includes being top 10 at the national meet this season.” 

Blinn’s women’s roster has increased to 14 runners this season and includes six returning sophomores in Mia Guillen, Clare White, Sophie Pyle, Juliana Jeansonne, Savanna Thaw, and Fernanda Ortiz.  

Guillen, White, Pyle, Jeansonne, and Thaw raced in the national meet in 2024 as the Bucs placed 21st among 25 teams. 

Much like the men’s team, Guillen said the Bucs are eyeing a top-10 finish at nationals this fall. 

“When you combine the runners we have returning and the new runners, you feel like we should be able to push ourselves further than where we finished last year,” Guillen said. “Coach Parker has set us up to improve our times and improve the way we race, and what we do in training every day is designed to get us to where we want to go.” 

Heading into the first meet of the season, Parker said that several of his athletes have already met or surpassed their target times, which is promising for what is to come. 

“I want this team to set their own goals, and by already exceeding what I put in place for them, I think they’re doing just that,” Parker said. “When I presented these athletes with the times I know would be necessary to get us inside the top 10 at the national meet, they all nodded their heads and told me, ‘We should be able to beat those.’ When you have that type of confidence and the ability to back it up – which I think we have plenty of both – you feel pretty good about the prospects for your season.”