TTU's Kimaru and UH's Patterson Earn Week 2 Big 12 Cross Country Accolades

Kimaru beat out 59 runners and won by two minutes and seven seconds. It's his second straight win to open the 2026 season, and Red Raider fans have now watched him cross the line first in both meets this year.

On the women's side, Houston's Cadence Patterson took the conference's weekly honor after placing 10th out of 123 runners at the Texas A&M Invite, clocking a 17:35.5 in the 5k. She led the Cougars to a third-place team finish and has now paced Houston for two consecutive weeks.

For Texas Tech, Kimaru's start gives the program something to point to heading deeper into the season. Two races, two wins, and a conference award is the kind of early stretch that shapes how a runner gets talked about come postseason time. It also puts Lubbock back in the Big 12 cross country conversation early, for a program looking to build momentum meet by meet.

Kimaru's margin of victory this week was bigger than most 8k races even take to finish a lap.