JONESBORO, Ark. (11/14/24) – Arkansas State cross country is set to compete in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Friday, vying for coveted spots in the NCAA Championships.
The meet will be hosted by Texas A&M and held at the Watts Cross Country Course in Bryan-College Station, Texas. It features 33 squads in both races, starting with the women's 6K at 9 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by the men's 10K.
WOMEN'S 6K – 9 AM
TEAMS COMPETING (33): Arkansas State, Abilene Christian, No. 26 Arkansas, Baylor, Central Arkansas, Houston, Houston Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Little Rock, Louisiana, LSU, McNeese, New Orleans, Nicholls, North Texas, Rice, Sam Houston, SMU, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, TCU, (RV) Texas, Texas A&M, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern, Texas State, Tulane, ULM, UT Arlington, UT-Rio Grande Valley, UTSA
MEN'S 10K – 10 AM
TEAMS COMPETING (33): Arkansas State, Abilene Christian, No. 3 Arkansas, Baylor, Central Arkansas, Houston, Houston Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Little Rock, Louisiana, LSU, McNeese, New Orleans, Nicholls, North Texas, Prairie View A&M, Rice, Sam Houston, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern, Texas State, Tulane, ULM, UT Arlington, UT-Rio Grande Valley, UTSA
HOW IT WORKS:
The top two finishing teams at the regional championships earn automatic bids to the 31-team NCAA Cross Country Championships (18 total nationally), with 13 at-large teams filling out the rest of the field based upon season results and regional finish.
Individually, the first four finishers at the regional championships who do not belong to an automatic qualifier or an at-large team automatically advance to the championships. However, all four must finish within the top 25 of their region. Altogether, 36 individuals automatically qualify and two at-larges are chose to total 38 individual selections. The two at-larges are the highest-placing runners at a regional who were not automatic qualifiers.
THREE THINGS TO NOTE:
1. REGIONAL RANKINGS: Entering the regional championships, Arkansas State is ranked eighth in the men's rankings, while the women are 13th. A-State's highest men's finish was third in 2021, while the finished sixth in 2019.
2. PYEATT'S PROWESS: Jacob Pyeatt has consistently been one of the Sun Belt Conference's top runners, winning the SBC individual men's title two weeks ago, and is a contender for All-Region honors for the third consecutive year with hopes of earning a bid to the NCAA Championships.
3. C-STAT SUCCESS: The Watts Cross Country Course in College Station has been kind to the Scarlet and Black over the past few years. The scenic, fast course has allowed A-State to put up multiple personal bests each time out, most recently this season when 13 Red Wolves posted career-best marks at the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Oct. 18.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State track and field and cross country programs, follow @AStateTrack on Twitter and @astatetfxc on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField.
