JONESBORO, Ark. (9/17/21) – Entering its third year under Head Cross Country Coach Jesse Duvall, the Arkansas State cross country teams are set to open the 2021 season Saturday at the Rhodes College Invitational.
Held at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tenn., the meet gets underway at 8 a.m. CT with the men's 8K, followed by the women's 5K at 8:45 a.m.
TEAMS PARTICIPATING: Arkansas State, Rhodes College (host), Memphis, Christian Brothers, Hendrix, Mississippi Valley State, Union (Tenn.), UT Martin, Austin Peay, Blue Mountain College (Miss.), Millsaps, Centre, East Texas Baptist, UT-Dallas, Univ. of the Ozarks, Lane, Belhaven
5 THINGS TO NOTE:
1. Welcome Back!
Arkansas State returns a large majority of its scorers from last season's Sun Belt Conference Championships. The men return all five scorers, including individual champion Bennett Pascoe and First Team All-SBC finisher Lexington Hilton. The women's squad, which claimed its second straight conference title in 2020, returns four of five scorers, including two-time runner-up Pauline Meyer and first-teamer Sophie Leathers.
2. … and Welcome to the Pack!
Several newcomers will make their debuts in the 2021 season, as A-State brought in seven new distance runners (4 men, 3 women) to the roster – four freshmen and three transfers. On the women's side, Marina McDonough comes in as a graduate transfer from Cal State-San Marcos and joins freshmen Hannah McLaughlin (Flower Mound HS) and Cheyenne Melvin (STEAM Academy at McCluer South Berkeley HS). The men brought in a pair of transfers in Nathan Herbst (Indianapolis) and Ryan Parson (Kansas City) to accompany freshmen Dawson Mayberry (Bentonville HS) and Grayson Young (Cabot HS).
3. R-E-S-P-E-C-T in the Region
Partly due to the amount of returnees and the upward trend of the A-State cross country program, the Red Wolves garnered some respect among the South Central Region. Both teams were picked inside the top 10 of the USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches Poll, with the men being picked third behind Arkansas and Texas and the women being picked seventh. The squads finished sixth in their individual regional championships in 2019.
4. … as well as the Sun Belt Conference
High hopes continue to pile in for A-State cross country, as it was picked to sweep the Sun Belt Conference in the league's preseason coaches poll. The women earned seven of 12 first-place votes to three-peat, while the men took four of seven top votes and were tied atop the league projections with Appalachian State.
5. Bluff City Success
The Red Wolves will be making a trip across the Mississippi River for a meet in Memphis for the third time in the last four seasons. It will mark A-State's second appearance at the Rhodes Invitational in the last three seasons (did not compete in 2020). In 2019, the men placed third overall while the women placed fourth.
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.
