DALLAS -- Midwestern State took a big leap forward taking third place against a competitive, mixed field in the Gerald Richey/UTA Invitational Saturday morning at the Jesse Owens Memorial Athletic Complex.

Junior Amerhyst Aguirre repeated as the Mustangs' front runner placing ninth in a field loaded with Division I runners breaking the 19-minute 5K barrier for the first time in two years with an 18:57.7.

"Amerhyst is doing what it takes to be our No. 1 runner," MSU coach Koby Styles said. "She is running extremely well and just keeps improving."

MSU Texas compiled a total of 92 points finishing behind UT Arlington (38 points) and North Texas (43 points), but the Mustangs placed ahead of TCU out of the Big XII (114 points), Southeastern Oklahoma (132), Dallas Baptist (170), Louisiana (176) and Texas Wesleyan (193).

Midwestern's freshmen trio fo Elizabeth Butzke (19:23.8/15th), Sidney Tucker (19:38.4/22nd) and Christyn Smith (19:55.1/27th) continued to shine as each turned in team countable performances.

Their efforts led to a change of strategy for Styles, who activated senior Sierra Stucky (19:32.9/19th) and Jasmine Amo (20:15.3/32nd) after originally planning to redshirt the duo.

"We are good right now and need to live in the moment," Styles said. "They give us a real chance at winning a second straight conference title. We haven't done that in a while and this is a team that I believe will continue to improve."

Other finishers for the Mustangs included junior Mercy Yermo (20:25.0/34th), sophomore Alexandra Feller (20:37.6), sophomore Olivia Johnson (20:42.), senior Kylee Gorney (20:43.5), junior Gemma Gonzalez (22:15.0) and sophomore Victoria Rosas (22:15.2).

The Mustangs return to competition Saturday at the Texas Tech Open at The Rawls Course in Lubbock.