AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Cross Country begins its season in just four weeks and Assistant Coach Brad Herbster has announced his team's schedule for 2017 that includes the Longhorns hosting the 2017 Big 12 Championship.

The Longhorns open cross country season on September 1 at the Aggie Opener hosted by Texas A&M.

On Thursday, September 14 the team will host the Texas Invitational at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. The same site will host the Big 12 Championship on October 28. This year marks the first time for Texas to host the Big 12 Cross Country Championship since 2012.

"I'm excited to get this season started. We've got a good group of runners returning to go along with an impressive recruiting class that includes the No. 1 high school runner in the nation," Herbster said. "This year's schedule will challenge us to prepare for the championship season starting in late-October and we're looking forward to hosting the Big 12 Championship where we want to see a ton of fans cheering us on in Burnt Orange."

After the home event in September, the Longhorns travel to Notre Dame for the Joe Piane Invitational on September 29. Then it is off to Louisville for the Pre-Nationals Invitational. Louisville is also hosting the NCAA Championships and Pre-Nats will allow for teams to get familiar with the course against some of the top teams in the nation.

Texas A&M will host the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on November 10. The top two teams will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships.

The Longhorns welcome back junior Alex Rogers on the men's side who earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors last year for his 12th-place finish at the regional championship. Connor Hendrickson and Jacob Pickle also have all-region honors from previous years and are back for the Longhorns.

Senior Mary Beth Hamilton returns for her final season at Texas. She missed making all-region last year by one spot but did grab the honor in 2015. Junior Meghan Lloyd is back along with sophomore Destiny Collins , each earned all-region last year.

The men's team welcomes one of the top recruits in the nation in Sam Worley. The addition of Worley to the team gives Texas depth with experienced veterans to go along with a second strong recruiting class in a row for the men. Worley won Texas 6A state titles cross country, the 800 meters and 1,600 as a senior. He also finished second at NXN ninth at the Foot Locker National Championships. Connor O'Neill joins Worley as an incoming freshman and he finished 24th at NXN.

The women's incoming freshmen include Abigail Brudnick and Lauren Edwards. Brudnick finished 55th at the UIL 6A State Championship last fall, and Edwards was runner-up at the 5A State Championship. Her time ranked seventh among all classifications.

2017 Texas Cross Country Schedule