RESULTS/PHOTO GALLERY

By John Starbuck, mcmurrysports.com staff writer

ABILENE, TEXAS - West Texas A&M sophomore Sarah Koomson did well in her first race on American soil.
 
The Ghana transfer finished first Friday night in McMurry's Big Country Festival at the Abilene Christian course on East-North 10^th Street near Loop 322.
 
The race attracted 13 teams and 75 runners.
 
West Texas A&M Assistant Coach Grace Dwyer said Koomson arrived in Texas about ten days ago and had trained all summer in her home country. The only thing holding her back was she didn't have the proper type of running shoes, but the coaching staff quickly fixed the issue.
 
"I thank God for bringing me here and winning this race," Koomson said with the help of a teammate translator. "And I want to remain a champion for the rest of the year."
 
She finished higher than another teammate who got sixth in the 2022 Big Country Festival and better than Division I Texas A&M Commerce runners.
 
Dwyer said the coaches think Koomson has a "lot more in the tank," and the sky is the limit.
 
McMurry's interim head coach Corey Koch said this race would be the toughest mentally for his runners all season because of the heat. As the race was finishing, the temperature was 100 at the nearby Abilene airport, according to the National Weather Service.
 
"I think they competed well with how hot it was," he said.
 
Sophomore Savanna Danner (Kennedale, Texas) led the War Hawks.
 
"I worked hard to get here," she said, adding she wanted to thank all her coaches from high school to college, including outgoing McMurry coach Rexi Parcells, who was at Friday's meet but has accepted a job at St. Louis University in Missouri.
 
"I also would like to thank God for everything He's given me," Danner said.
 
Koch said Danner "set the tone" for McMurry and "I think we had top performances throughout."