For the first time since 2024, the Youngstown State men’s and women’s cross country teams will travel to College Station, Texas, for the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M on Friday. The regular-season finale will take place at Watts Cross Country Course.
Men’s Preview
Fifteen men will compete in the 8K at 9:15 a.m. Eastern/8:15 a.m. Central time. Blaze Fichter, Owen Brady, Connor Shingleton, Sage Vavro, Thomas Hunyadi and Josh Jones all return to Watts Cross Country Course after competing in the 2024 race.
Fichter recorded his personal-best 8K time of 23:50.4 at the 2024 Arturo Barrios Invitational, which ranks seventh in program history. Shingleton also posted his personal-best 8K time of 24:28.6 at the meet.
Blake Baker, Patrick Burgos, Ethan Cope, Brock Farris, MJ Pottinger, Caleb Prettyman, Owen Scott, Tyce Shaner and Landen Eyre, who will make his collegiate debut, round out the lineup.
Former Penguins Hunter Christopher, Ryan Meadows, Tobias Jones and Thomas Caputo all recorded top-10 times in program history at the 2024 race. Christopher’s 8K time of 23:10.6 still holds the top spot in the record book. The men finished fifth out of 38 teams with 205 points.
Women’s Preview
Ten women will compete in the 6K at 9:50 a.m. Eastern/8:50 a.m. Central time. McKinley Fielding, Caleigh Richards and Megan Stafford are the only Penguins returning to Texas from the 2024 squad.
Fielding set a program record with her 6K time of 20:40.6 at Texas A&M in 2024 before breaking her own record at the 2025 Horizon League Championships. Richards recorded her career-best 6K time of 20:53.3 during her freshman season in 2024, which ranks fourth in program history.
Cecelia Chase, Maggie Hopple, Lillian Katsaras, Erica Kaulen, Linsey Plant, Brady Sterbling and Julia Wheeler round out the Guins lineup.
The women finished 30th out of 41 teams with 745 points at the 2024 invitational.
Last Time Out
The Penguins competed in the Blue and Gold races at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 2.
The women recorded a program-best 13th-place finish in the Blue Race, led by Fielding’s 37th-place finish. She matched her personal-best 5K time of 16:59.3. Richards improved her fourth-best time in program history by four seconds, while Kaulen added her name to the record book in her first collegiate 5K race.
Following the invitational, Fielding earned Under Armour #HLXC Women’s Runner of the Week honors for the third time in her career, while Kaulen was named #HLXC Women’s Freshman Runner of the Week for the third time this season. The women also reached a program-best No. 12 in the latest USTFCCCA Great Lakes Regional rankings, surpassing their previous high of No. 13 in 2025.
Burgos led the men with a 27th-place finish among 156 runners. Jones, Shingleton, Fichter and Scott also scored points for the Penguins. The team finished 13th out of 18 teams with 296 points, matching its program-best Blue Race finish from 2025.
The Field
Men’s
Abilene Christian
Adams State
App State
Arizona State
Baylor
CBU
Cal Poly
Eastern Kentucky
FIU
Harding
Houston
Houston Christian
Incarnate Word
LSU
LSU New Orleans
Lamar
Louisiana
McNeese State
New Mexico State
Nicholls State
North Texas
Odessa
Ohio State
Oklahoma City
Rice
Richmond
Sam Houston
San Francisco
Stephen F. Austin
TCU
Tarleton State
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas A&M San Antonio
Texas A&M-CC
Texas Southern
Texas State
ULM
UT-Arlington
UT-Rio Grande Valley
UTEP
UTSA
Youngstown State
Women’s
Abilene Christian
Adams State
App State
Arizona State
Arkansas
Baylor
Cal Poly
Eastern Kentucky
FIU
Harding
Henderson State
Houston
Houston Christian
Incarnate Word
LSU
LSU New Orleans
Lamar
Louisiana
McNeese State
New Mexico State
Nicholls State
North Texas
Odessa
Ohio State
Oklahoma City
Rice
Richmond
Sam Houston
San Francisco
Stephen F. Austin
TCU
Tarleton State
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas A&M San Antonio
Texas A&M-CC
Texas Southern
Texas State
Tulane
Tulsa
UCF
ULM
UT-Arlington
UT-Rio Grande Valley
UTEP
UTSA
Youngstown State