The West Texas A&M University men’s and women’s cross country teams have both won Lone Star Conference (LSC) titles, an accomplishment they reached for the first time in 10 years. According to GoBuffsgo, both the men’s and women’s have both ranked high according to the latest National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) poll. “West Texas A&M Cross Country teams are both ranked as Top-6 programs in the nation in the last poll before NCAA Cross Country National Championships announced by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday afternoon.”

Elise Leveel, a junior digital communication and media major, said she really enjoys being on the cross country team. “I really like being on this team; it’s a small team, but everyone is really nice to each other, and we have good team spirit,” Leveel said.

Leveel said she really enjoyed being able to experience the LSC title win as a team. “That was really nice to win because it was the first time in 10 years for the school, and my coach was really emotional after the race, and it feels good to win as a team and to feel that everyone was happy and unified around the title,” Leveel said 

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams were able to send students to compete at nationals this year. “They are taking three teams from each region to go to nationals, and in our region, in both men’s and women’s they took nine,” Leveel said.

Leveel said her coaches have really helped her during her time running cross country at WT and in leading their team to a title victory. “Both the coach and the assistant coach are doing a great job,” Leveel said. “I really trust my coach’s training process and I think he’s a good coach and he’s a good mentor. He always finds good ways to motivate us.”

Leveel said she hopes that other Buffs go out to support the cross country teams just as they do other teams. “Yes, I feel like cross country is not a really famous sport and I think for both teams it could be the best results in the school’s history for cross country, and I think it’s always nice to feel the support of the school,” Leveel said.

At the 2023 Division II Cross Country Championships in Joplin, Missouri, the women’s cross country team finished in 6th place and the men’s team finished 4th. The placements were the highest for both teams in WT’s history.