Women's Cross Country 9/26/2025 11:00:00 PM

Blinn men and women take second, third at The Hill Cross Country Classic

Freshmen Matthew Binkley and Rosario Botello led the Buccaneers in the men's and women's races

Women's Cross Country 9/26/2025 11:00:00 PM

Blinn men and women take second, third at The Hill Cross Country Classic

Freshmen Matthew Binkley and Rosario Botello led the Buccaneers in the men's and women's races

The Blinn College men's and women's cross country teams had a productive day at The Hill Cross Country Classic on Friday in Hillsboro, Texas.

The event was hosted by Hill College.

The Buccaneer men placed second in an 11-team, 8-kilometer competition, while the Blinn women took third amongst eight squads in a 5K race.

NCAA Division II program Dallas Baptist University claimed the team title in both races.

The name of Friday's event leans heavily into its running course, which features numerous hills that often take a toll on times.

"It's definitely a tough course to run because of the terrain," Bucs head coach Jesse Parker said, "but I was pretty pleased and impressed with how all of our runners handled the challenge."

Of the 126 runners in the men's race, the Buccaneer men placed two inside the top 10 and four in the top 25.

Blinn finished with 60 points.

Matthew Binkley 2025-26

Pictured: From left, Matthew Binkley and Ryan Fernandez

Freshman Matthew Binkley was the Bucs' top finisher with a seventh-place time (sixth for team scoring) of 26 minutes, 39.41 seconds. Freshman Ryan Fernandez was eighth individually (ninth team) at 26:46.67. Sophomore Christian Gonzalez crossed the finish line in 27:21.62 for 20th place (14th team), and sophomore Eric Lagat was 21st (15th team) in 27:22.02. Freshman Gage Horejsi rounded out Blinn's scoring with a 27th-place finish (17th team) in 27:27.61.

"The men continued to run well today," Parker said. "They ran well as a group early and moved up well throughout the race. It was nice to see us have five finishes in the top 20 team places, and that will be important for us as we prepare to go to Dallas Baptist in two weeks."

In the women's race, Blinn tallied 114 points to finish behind Dallas Baptist and NCAA DIII program Trinity University in the team standings.

The Bucs were without freshman standout Kaitlin Wilson, who missed the race with an illness, but Parker said he was proud of how other runners stepped up in her stead.

Pictured: From left, Rosario Botello

Freshman Rosario Botello led the way for Blinn with a 23rd-place time of 21:00.79. She placed 15th for team scoring. Sophomore Clare White took 27th place (18th team) in 21;12.34; freshman Brooke Berryman was 40th (26th team) in 21:48.65; sophomores Juliana Jeansonne and Mia Guillen were 42nd and 43rd (27th and 28th team) in 21:52.84 and 21:56.27, respectively; freshman Chloe Ross was 46th (31st team) in 22:16.45; and freshman Chloe Finto took 55th (34th team) with a time of 22:59.94.

"I was really impressed with Rosario and how she stepped up with Kaitlin out," Parker said. "I was also very impressed with Brooke's race today. She has been getting better each week and executed a great race today."

Up next for the Blinn men and women is the Old Glory Gallup hosted by Dallas Baptist on Saturday, Oct. 11, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.

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Players Mentioned

Brooke Berryman: Freshman

Rosario Botello: Freshman

Chloe Finto: Freshman

Mia Guillen: Sophomore

Juliana Jeansonne: Sophomore

Chloe Ross: Freshman

Clare White: Sophomore

Kaitlin Wilson: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Brooke Berryman
: Freshman

Rosario Botello
: Freshman

Chloe Finto
: Freshman

Mia Guillen
: Sophomore

Juliana Jeansonne
: Sophomore

Chloe Ross
: Freshman

Clare White
: Sophomore

Kaitlin Wilson
: Freshman