COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Freshman LILY BURTON hit the ground running in her first cross-country collegiate meet, racing directly into St. Edward's record books to lead the Hilltoppers to a ninth-place finish at the Texas A&M Invitational.
Competing in her first race as a Hilltopper, Burton completed the 5K course in 18:36.5 to finish 44th overall, recording the 10th-fastest women's 5K performance in program history.
Burton arrived at St. Edward's after competing at a high level in England, including a third-place finish in the 800 meters at the 2026 English Schools Championships. After sitting out last week's season opener, she demonstrated how quickly that experience could translate to cross-country by navigating a field composed primarily of Division I competition.
St. Edward's scored 281 points, finishing one point ahead of Lone Star Conference opponent UT Tyler — who was voted second in the LSC Preseason Poll — on the strength of a tight one-to-five split. The Hilltoppers also finished 10 points ahead of NCAA Division I Sam Houston.
Freshman ABIGAIL PINON continues the promising start to her collegiate career, following Burton across the finish line in 48th place with a time of 18:43.7. Pinon lowered her season-opening time by more than 80 seconds after leading the Hilltoppers through the rain, mud, and hills at the Floyd Farms Invitational.
St. Edward's most experienced runners also set new personal standards, shaving more than 36 seconds off the previous bests set last season. Junior VICTORIA HOYT provided the Hilltoppers' next scoring performance, finishing 71st in 19:16.6, and senior Adriana Rodriguez crossed three places later in 19:22.5.
Sophomore transfer BRIANNE VASQUEZ completed the Hilltoppers' scoring five in 86th place with a personal-best time of 19:50.2, eclipsing the 20:49.4 she ran at last year's Chile Pepper Festival as a member of the UT Tyler team. Only 1:13.7 separated Burton and Vasquez, continuing the pack running established last weekend.
Freshman Emmiline Shaw (92nd, 20:19.5), junior Julia Gainar (109th, 21:21.8), and freshman AVA BRILEY (111th, 21:34.8) rounded out the Hilltopper lineup.
SMU placed five runners in the top eight to win the meet with 21 points. Host Texas A&M finished second with 81, followed by Houston at 114.
St. Edward's will have three weeks to train before splitting its roster for two meets on Oct. 3. The Hilltoppers' top group will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Chile Pepper Festival, while the program's depth runners compete at the Southwestern Showdown in Georgetown.
