The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA South Central Regional Championships
Cross Country to battle for NCAA bids at Regional
11.10.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns take on South Central Regional Championship in Arkansas
NCAA South Central Regional Championships information
Time: Friday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m. CT
Where: Agri Park | Fayetteville, Ark.
Championship Central
M Entries / W Entries (subject to change when scratches submitted)
Live Results | USTFCCCA Live Blog
Course Maps: Men 10K / Women 6K
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Longhorns look to have a repeat performance from a year ago this weekend at the NCAA South Central Regional Cross Country Championships and see both the men's and women's teams advance to the NCAA Championships. Action begins Friday morning from Agri Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where the Longhorns will aim for a top two finish to move on automatically.
Last season at this meet, both teams finished second behind Arkansas with the women bouncing back from a sixth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship. This year, the women look to have another similar performance. The men are eyeing a strong showing as they increase to the championship distance of 10,000 meters.
"For the men we have to get that top two spot. There's not a lot of room for error," Coach Brad Herbster said. "Not a lot of teams in the region have any Kolas points other than Arkansas so we really have to make sure we are advancing and securing that top two spot.
"On the women's side there is a little more room for error but not much. We have to get after the top two, but if we're third we have a shot still. So it just kind of depends on what goes on throughout the region."
If the men can grab a berth to the NCAA Championships, it will mark the eighth straight year for the Longhorns advancing to the toughest NCAA Championship to qualify for.
Only 31 teams are selected to the NCAA Cross Country Championships with 18 of those being automatic bids at the nine respective regional championships. Just 13 at-large bids are available for grabs, making a win or a runner-up performance crucial to guarantee a spot in Terre Haute, Indiana, next week.
Sophomore Alex Rogers said the men's team is prepared for the extra distance at this week's race. He is confident the Longhorns are ready to execute their race plan and do whatever it takes to advance to the NCAA Championships.
"What we've been doing has been working. We're just going to go out and do what we've done before: start hard, work through the middle, and then it's going to be a grind because it's a 10K not an 8K," Rogers said. "We're just going to see who has the most guts and I know we do."
After team spots are decided for the championship, the NCAA will invite the top four finishing individuals at each regional whose teams do not qualify for the national championship to compete as individuals.
Senior Sandie Raines is excited to be back on the course she started her collegiate career on at Arkansas before transferring to Texas. She knows this is her last chance to achieve goals she set for herself and her teammates.
"This is my last year of cross probably in my life. You don't really have another cross season like you do in high school and you do in college, so this is really my last go 'round to try to make the national meet, try to get All-American, and get Texas on the map to be at the national meet consistently. So this meet means a lot to me," Raines said.
Fans can follow the action online with updates on Twitter from @UTexasTrack and @USTFCCCA. The official hashtag for the championship meet is #D1SouthCentral. The USTFCCCA also will be hosting a live blog on its website by pulling content from official team social media accounts and media members covering the race. A "National Results Wall" will be at ustfccca.org and fans will be able to see live updates along with photos and more. Live results will be provided by FlashResults.com that will calculate team scores at the midway point of each race.
Texas Quotes
Coach Brad Herbster
On if the team feels a sense of urgency to repeat from last year: Yeah they really do. Right now they are at a really good spot, they've worked out well for the past couple of weeks. They're in a really good spot from a team aspect so they know what they need to do and we just have to get out there and execute.
On what he tells his team to pump them up: You want to be pretty relaxed going in, they know what they need to do. It's not just another race but at the same time you're doing the same thing you should do at practice and other races. The expectations are the same with qualifying and making sure you're at the show.
On the challenge of the men going from 8K to 10K: We've got some younger guys on the roster but it shouldn't matter too much at this point. It's literally six minutes more of racing and that's it. Six minutes is not a real long time and if you want to go to the championships you have to be able to finish those 10Ks.
Sophomore, Alex Rogers
On mindset of team going into this meet: We just have to place in the top two as teams. We have to try our best to get back to the national meet. Individually, I'm trying to get top five, Robert (Uhr) is trying to get top five, we have a couple of dudes who I know can get into the top 10. So we're pretty confident with what we're doing.
On making an adjustment going from 8K to 10K: Just making sure that your body feels good more than anything. We've already put in the work. It's all about just feeling good at this point. We've done all the work, we've put all the miles in and now it's time to reap the benefits of it.
Senior, Sandie Raines
On competing in this meet as a senior: It's Arkansas; it's the course I started my career on as a freshman. It's a beautiful course and I'm really excited to go back.
On mindset going into it: I'm just really excited. It's a great course to run fast on and compete on so that's really nice, I don't have to worry about that. I'm just excited to see what the competition is going to be like and see what we can do out there on such a nice day.
On the course being a different style than the one at Big 12 Championship: It's very different. Big 12 was more of a mental battle for me because I didn't like the course but I really appreciated them putting it on. It was hard; it was a hard cross country course. This one it's not really a factor. It's more competing and being tough.
Players Mentioned
