FORT WORTH, Texas — After battling injuries ealry in his career, St. Edward's men's cross country junior HOGAN HEIKKINEN delivered a breakthrough performance Saturday at the DBU Old Glory Gallop, running the fourth-fastest 8K in program history to lead the Hilltoppers in their final race before the Lone Star Conference Championships.
Heikkinen completed the course in 24:38.6, finishing 46th overall and 44th among scoring runners. The performance was nearly 97 seconds faster than his 26:15.3 at the Chile Pepper Festival two weeks earlier, marking a significant step toward recapturing and surpassing the form he showed before injuries disrupted his progress.
His time ranks fourth in St. Edward's history, trailing only Omar Guzman's 24:05.5 at the 2024 Texas A&M Invitational, Ivan Guzman's 24:28.8 at the same meet and Omar Guzman's 24:36.5 at the 2024 LSC Championships.
More importantly, the performance gives St. Edward's another potential front-line runner heading into the conference championships, where the Hilltoppers have spent the season working to rebuild their lineup around a combination of returning veterans and emerging freshmen.
Heikkinen's breakthrough was accompanied by significant improvements throughout the lineup. Sophomore Javier Ramirez finished second for St. Edward's in 25:02.7, placing 80th overall and 76th among scoring runners. Ramirez improved more than 70 seconds from his performance at Chile Pepper, giving the Hilltoppers a second runner near the 25-minute mark.
Junior PARKER STEVENS followed in 25:37.8, moving into the third scoring position after finishing seventh on the team at Chile Pepper. Stevens improved more than 82 seconds from his previous race, providing another encouraging performance from the Hilltoppers' returning core.
Freshmen ANTHONY GONZALEZ and JOE IBARRA completed the scoring five in 25:56.5 and 26:06.9, respectively. Ibarra lowered his previous time by more than 40 seconds, while Gonzalez moved into the fourth scoring position.
St. Edward's finished 22nd in the 43-team field with 548 points and an average scoring time of 25:28, nearly a minute faster than its scoring-five average at Chile Pepper.
Freshman CALEB KYBURZ followed Ibarra by just six-tenths of a second in 26:07.5, and freshman Benjamin Macias, who led the Hilltoppers at Chile Pepper, finished in 26:14.2. Only 17.7 seconds separated the Hilltoppers' fourth through seventh finishers, giving St. Edward's a tightly grouped collection of young runners competing for scoring positions.
The emergence of Heikkinen at the front of the lineup carries particular significance for a St. Edward's team that has competed without graduate student BEN BAYLY and returning All-LSC runner ARLO GONZALES in recent meets. Bayly opened the season by running 25:23.9 at the Texas A&M Invitational, finishing as the first NCAA Division II competitor across the line, while Gonzales entered the season as an established all-conference performer.
With Heikkinen now running at a level comparable to some of the best performances in program history, the Hilltoppers have another proven option to lead the lineup as they prepare for the postseason. His return to form, combined with the progress of Ramirez and Stevens, provides a more experienced foundation for a team that has leaned heavily on its freshmen throughout the fall.
West Texas A&M won the team championship with 27 points, placing five runners among the first nine scoring finishers. Oklahoma Baptist finished second with 132 points, followed by East Central and Drury with 153 each. West Texas A&M freshman Meshack Keter won the individual title in 22:52.4.
St. Edward's returns to competition Nov. 7 at the Lone Star Conference Championships in Lubbock, where Heikkinen's breakthrough offers a promising development as the Hilltoppers look to make their strongest collective showing of the season.
