Cross Country: 2023 Season Preview – Texas A&M Athletics

SCOUTING REPORT: WOMEN

The tandem of Kennady Fontenot and Maddie Livingston are the lone returners from the women’s team’s top five finishers at the NCAA Regional a year ago. 

“Maddie Livingston is our top returner,” McRaven added. “She really came into her own last outdoor season as she became an SEC scorer with her fifth-place finish in the 10,000-meters at last spring’s SEC outdoor championships. I’m excited to see her progress this year.” 

In 2022, Livingston scored in all six meets for the Maroon & White and was the top returning finisher at the SEC Championships and NCAA Regional. Fontenot scored in five meets, including being the fourth Aggie to cross the line at the regional. 

Also returning from last season are top runners Mary Grace Rodriguez, Katelyn Buckley, Emma Ellis and Gemma Goddard. 

“I’m excited to see what the year ahead brings,” McRaven continued. “Even when you have a lot of returners every year is different. They all develop their own personality and their own culture. I like our teams, but we’ll know more after we’ve been back on campus for a little longer.” 

Texas A&M welcomes Madison Brown, a graduate transfer from Dallas Baptist, for the 2023 season. Brown was a 2022 Division II All-American in cross country, placing 21st at the national championships. Her second-place individual finish at the Lone Star Conference Cross Country Championships paced DBU to the title. 

The freshmen newcomers for the women’s team includes a pair of local products with Maddie Jones and Megan Roberts spending their prep career at College Station High School. 

“Megan Roberts is a local product from College Station High School who made a big jump last year to be a top-10 finisher at the 5A state cross country meet,” McRaven said. “I feel like I’ve had a front row seat seeing her growth throughout her high school career. She has the kind of toughness that will pay off on the cross country course.” 

Other Texans among the rookies include Addison Applebaum, Shewaye Johnson and Avery Perkins. Ohioan Jamie Confer also joins the fray after an outstanding career at Beavercreek High School in Ohio. 

“We have a great mix with this group,” McRaven said. “A strong, experienced transfer, some good long-distance types and some young women coming from the middle-distance side of things.”