JONESBORO, Ark. (8/5/21) – On Thursday, Arkansas State Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jim Patchell and head cross country coach Jesse Duvall unveiled the 2021 cross country slate.
In his two seasons leading the distance program, Duvall has been named the Sun Belt Conference Women's Coach of the Year after leading the A-State women to back-to-back conference crowns. This season, the Red Wolves are slated for four meets before the conference championships, held Oct. 29 in Mobile, Alabama, at Old Brookley Gulf Pines Golf Course.
A-State does not have to travel very far for its season opener, trekking to Memphis for the Rhodes Cross Country Invitational (Sept. 18). Then, the Scarlet and Black heads to the northwest corner of the state for the prestigious Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville (Oct. 2). In the 2019 Chile Pepper, the A-State women placed ninth while the men finished 11th, both besting a pair of Sun Belt counterparts.
Then, some Red Wolves will get a first glipse of the 2021 NCAA Championships course as part of the FSU XC Invite/Pre-Nationals Invitational (Oct. 15) in Tallahassee, Florida. Others will stay in state and race in the Little Rock Open, held at War Memorial Park (Oct. 16). That weekend marks the final tune-up before the 2021 Sun Belt Championships.
Last season, A-State's women repeated as conference champions, while the men placed third as a team. Both squads return multiple scorers from last season, including two-time women's runner-up Pauline Meyer and the 2020 men's individual champion Bennett Pascoe.
Following the conference meet, the Red Wolves will face off against regional opponents and vie for a coveted spot in the national meet in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships in Waco, Texas (Nov. 12). In 2019 in Fayetteville, both squads finished sixth to give both the men's and women's teams their best regional finishes in school history.
Should A-State advance, the NCAA Championships will be held Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Florida.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State track and field program, follow @AStateTrack on Twitter and @Arkansas_State_Track on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField.
| 2021 ARKANSAS STATE CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE |
| Sept. 18 (Sat.) |
Rhodes College Invitational (Memphis, Tenn.) |
| Oct. 2 (Sat.) |
Chile Pepper XC Festival (Fayetteville, Ark.) |
| Oct. 15 (Fri.) |
FSU XC Invite/Pre-Nationals (Tallahassee, Fla.) |
| Oct. 16 (Sat.) |
Little Rock Open (Little Rock, Ark.) |
| Oct. 29 (Fri.) |
Sun Belt Conference Championships (Mobile, Ala.) |
| Nov. 12 (Fri.) |
NCAA South Central Regional Championships (Waco, Texas) |
| Nov. 20 (Sat.) |
NCAA Cross Country Championships (Tallahassee, Fla.) |
Subject to change
