Senior Emilia Mandl, left, freshman Sophia Hamdani, center, and junior Abigail Perez run during practice Aug. 31 at Maverick Stadium. The team is set to begin the season at the John McKenzie Invitational on Sept. 4 in Fort Worth.
UTA cross-country enters the 2026 season Friday, with its legendary head coach and almost the entirety of its roster returning.
John Sauerhage was said to retire from coaching in the spring, but he returns in a more relaxed role. Instead of head coaching both running programs, he will lead cross-country and assist track and field.
In the current era of college sports that includes the expanded use of the transfer portal, it has become harder for programs to keep teams together for multiple years. Yet, Sauerhage did just that.
Of UTA’s 20 outdoor long-distance runners, three did not run for the university’s cross-country team last season. Two of them, Sophia Hamdani and Lucas Whitt, are freshmen.
Only two are transfers, junior Wesley Payne from Dallas Baptist University and senior Kellen Frickel from Tarleton State University. Frickel transferred to Arlington after last fall and ran for the Maverick track and field team in spring 2026.
Senior Emilia Mandl clears a hurdle during practice Aug. 31 at Maverick Stadium. This is Mandl’s fourth season at UTA.
This means 16 runners are returning to UTA. Only one women’s runner, senior Lauren Baur, did not start their collegiate career in Arlington, spending her first year at Lamar University. Baur said that her main goal this season is simple.
“I want to stay healthy,” Baur said. “I feel like I peak, and then I don’t run good the rest of the season going into track.”
On the men’s side, a majority of the team is entering its second season at UTA. Three men’s runners, including junior Toby Eaton, previously ran for conference foe Tarleton State.
Eaton said he has talked to the coaching staff about wanting to become more of a team leader, whether naturally or by official designation.
“I’m really looking forward to being more of a leader as I’m getting older, and also just continuing to better myself as an athlete and running faster times, for sure,” he said.
The season opens at the John McKenzie Invitational, hosted by Texas Christian University, at 7:30 a.m. Friday at the AP Ranch Championship Cross Country Course in Fort Worth.
Leo LeGrand, junior mid distance runner, runs during practice Aug. 31 at Maverick Stadium. LeGrand transferred to UTA from Hutchinson Community College in 2025.
A week later, the Mavericks return to Fort Worth to host the Gerald Richey UTA Invitational at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at the Rolling Hills Soccer Complex.
The teams then take a break before heading out of the state for the first time this season, competing in the 38th Annual Chile Pepper Festival, hosted by the University of Arkansas, at 10:25 a.m. Oct. 3 at Agri Park in Fayetteville.
UTA finishes its regular season at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M University on Oct. 16 at the Dale Watts ’71 Cross Country Course in College Station, Texas.
All of that leads into the team’s main focus: the United Athletic Conference championship at The University Club at Arlington in Richmond, Kentucky. The meet is hosted by Eastern Kentucky University, who Sauerhage said he believes will be the team to beat in the conference.
“Going in, Eastern Kentucky will be very challenging to beat because they’re one of those schools that put all their money and all their scholarship dollars and their emphasis into being successful in cross country,” Sauerhage said.
“I tip my cap to them. They do a great job, but they’re going to be very challenging to compete against because of the talent that they have. Our men have a very good shot at finishing second.”
Sophomore distance runner Mateo Doherty clears a hurdle during practice Aug. 31 at Maverick Stadium. This is Doherty’s second season with UTA.
Sauerhage said that the UTA women’s team has a better chance to take the conference crown, specifically noting the team’s talent from Kenya: senior Matro Jepkemboi, and sophomores Connie Chiptoo and Dorcas Jepkosgei.
“They’re all three capable of finishing in the top 10 in the UAC conference meet, then we’ll see if we can get two more gals from our roster to get in the top 20,” Sauerhage said. “It’s going to be interesting. We have a very good women’s cross country team, and they’ll be ready to go.”
Afterward, UTA heads to the NCAA South Central Regionals on Nov. 13, returning to the Dale Watts ‘71 Cross Country Course in College Station, Texas. From there, teams or individual runners can qualify automatically or earn an at-large bid for the NCAA national championships Nov. 21 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
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