The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA South Central Regional Championships
Cross Country heads to NCAA Regional in College Station
11.08.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns look to qualify for national championships
Meet Headquarters | Live Results | Course Maps | Directions & Parking | USTFCCCA Regional Central
AUSTIN, Texas – Championship season continues for Texas Cross Country this weekend in College Station as the Longhorns race at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships looking to qualify for the national meet.
Action starts at 9:15 a.m. Friday from the Dale Watts Cross Country Course at Texas A&M. The women will race first over 6,000 meters and the men will bump up to their national championship distance of 10,000 meters at 10:15 a.m. The top two teams will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships next week hosted by Louisville.
The Texas men have their sights set on qualifying for the NCAA Championships a ninth straight year while the women look to return to NCAAs after missing last year's championship. The last time the regional meet was held at Texas A&M, the men and women both finished second to grab an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
Cross Country Coach Brad Herbster said his team enters the regional with confidence after the men and women both ran well at the Big 12 Championship. He hopes to see the Longhorns take that momentum and confidence with them to the trail on Friday.
"I'm really excited about how they ran at conference. This meet is all about getting through to the next round and the NCAA Championships," Herbster said. "We just got to go out there and execute. I think on the men and women's side, we're in a pretty good spot."
The men's team is ranked No. 17 in the nation heading into the race, tied with regional rival Arkansas The Razorbacks have won the NCAA South Central Regional four consecutive years and Texas eyes its first regional crown since 2012. The women moved up to No. 3 in the regional rankings after finishing third at the Big 12 Championship.
With the race just down the road at A&M, Herbster said it will be nice to be closer to home. Now it is a matter of running well as a group and trying to keep the streak alive for the men and getting back to nationals for the women.
"We've got our race plan intact so as long as they go out there and execute the race plan and get in the mix, we should have a really good day," Herbster said. "We will try to continue that tradition of qualifying and get ready for nationals provided we do what we need to do at this meet."
The race is free for fans to attend. For those unable to watch in person, FlashResults.com will provide live results with split updates.