SMU’s women are headed back to the NCAA cross country championships after a four-point margin in College Station ended a 13-year wait.
The Mustangs finished second at the South Central Regional on Friday, Nov. 13, securing an automatic berth for the national meet. SMU Athletics said it was the program’s first team qualification since 2013 and its best regional placing since that season.
Arkansas won with 51 points. SMU’s 109 edged Stephen F. Austin’s 113, while Tulane finished close behind with 115, according to the official TFRRS results. In a sport where lower scores win, that left little room for any of SMU’s five scoring runners to slip back.
Rose Mburu led the Mustangs with fourth place over the 6-kilometer course in 19 minutes, 11.8 seconds. Mary Nyangate followed in 21st at 20:09.5, and Carolina Correia was 23rd in 20:14.4. The ACC confirmed that all three earned All-Region honors.
Elizabeth Smits finished 28th in 20:21.4 and Ruby Little placed 33rd in 20:31.3 to complete SMU’s scoring five. Their combined places produced the 109-point total that sent the Dallas-area program through.
