RICHARDSON, TX (12.01.15) - It wasn't that long ago that the UT Dallas men's and women's cross country teams ran near the back of the pack in the American Southwest Conference. That is no longer the case after two more strong finishes to the 2015 season.

The Comet women picked up their second runner-up finish in a row last month at the ASC Championships. Prior to their 2013 third-place finish, the Comets posted four straight finishes of no better than seventh place and only recorded two top three finishes in the first 14 seasons of the program's history. For the second straight year, three Comets earned All-ASC honors with sophomores Samantha Tschirhart and Lindsey Rayborn each earning first team honors ans junior Mallory Bing collecting second team recognition. Tschirhart placed fifth overall, Rayborn seventh and Bing 12th. Junior Sam Hartke rounded out four Comets in the top 20, placing 19th.

UTD would then record its best-ever finish at the NCAA Division III Regional Championships, placing 15th at the South/Southeast meet hosted by Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va. Rayborn would take top finishing honors for the Comets, placing 45th, while Tschirhart placed 60th. On the season, the Comets competed in six meets in 2015. UTD claimd the team title at the University of Dallas meet and placed second at the meet hosted by East Texas Baptist. Rayborn was the Comets' top finisher in four of the six meets with Tschirhart leading the pack in the remaining two events.

For the men, the Comets recorded their second third-place finish in three seasons after never placing higher than fourth at the ASC meet since the program started in 1999. UTD also had three male runners claim All-ASC honors with freshman Alireza Nourani and junior Brenton Heble claiming first team recognition and sophomore Keish Mii earning second team honors. Nourani, who was named the ASC's Freshman of the Year, led the Comets with a fifth place finish while Heble placed sixth. Mii finished in 13th place to round out the UTD men in the top 20.

The Comets would place 22nd at the NCAA D-III Regionals with Heble leading the way with a 46th place finish. As the women, the UTD men also ran in six meets during the season, placing third at ETBU and fourth at UD.  Nourani led UTD in four of six meets with Heble and Mii taking the lead once each.