COLLEGE STATION, Texas – OMAR GUZMAN set a new St. Edward's 8K record in his season debut, leading the Hilltoppers to an eighth-place finish at the Texas A&M Invitational. 
 
Guzman and his brother, IVAN GUZMAN, showed the results of their summer training at altitude in Mexico last summer. The twins both broke the previous school mark of 24:40.2 set by teammate DYLAN SEQUEIRA at last year's UAH Chargers Invitational. 
 
"Omar's training was consistent over the summer. Going to Mexico and training at altitude helped him and Ivan," St. Edward's head cross country coach Steven Cary says. "But I would say their training has been consistent since they've been here, and that's been the greatest thing that's led to their success. Because of that discipline, they've progressed so much since their freshman year." 
 
Omar paced the Hilltoppers at 24:05.5, blowing away his previous best of 25:16.6 set two years ago on the same course to finish 18th. Ivan was the next Hilltopper to cross the finish line at 24:28.8, surpassing his previous best of 25:16.2 set at last year's UAH Chargers Invitational. 
 
Sequeira, HOGAN HEIKKINEN, and ARLO GONZALES rounded out St. Edward's top five. Sequeira placed 46th with a time of 24:52.7, Heikkinen set a personal record 25:34.0, and Gonzales flashed potential with a 25:36.7 in his collegiate 8K debut. 
 
"Dylan ran a few seconds faster than two years ago on this course. He put in great effort and had a good summer," Cary says. "Hogan was banged up last year, and we've worked to keep him healthy. I'm not surprised he ran as well as he did. I think he's capable of more. Then, Arlo, I was happily surprised with him today. I knew he would be a solid contributor, but he showed up pretty strong today, especially in the last two miles." 
 
AJ PENA ran a personal-best 26:11.4, PARKER STEVENS ran a 26:17.8 in his first collegiate race, WILLIAM SULENTICH cleared his previous best by more than a minute at 26:22.0, and MELECIO ORTIZ had similar results at 26:35.3. 
 
"We had some guys set personal records by quite a bit. Each mile, they got a little bit stronger," Cary says. "Will looked more like the runner I knew he could be last year. Seeing him and Melecio run strong after running last week was good." 
 
CHASE BENNETT (27:08.6), BRADEN COX (27:30.7), JUSTIN LEATHERS (27:43.1), JOSIAH GUAJARDO (28:04.8) and Gabe Hernandez (28:11.7) also competed. 
 
"Our theme this week was resilience. I knew they would be tired, especially those who raced last week," Cary says. "They figured out how to regroup, stay and fight, and give our team a chance to compete well." 
The men will return to action in Denver, Colo., on Sept. 21 at the Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners Invitational.