The University of Kentucky men’s and women’s cross country teams are heading back to South Carolina for the NCAA Southeast Regionals after competing in the SEC Championships in Columbia. The meet, hosted by the University of South Carolina – Upstate, will take place on Friday, November 10th at the Roger Milliken Center.
The women’s team will kick off the action with a 6,000-meter race at 11:00 a.m. EDT, followed by the men’s 10,000-meter race at noon EDT. Assistant coach Hakon DeVries is hoping for a strong performance from the teams, following a disappointing showing at the conference championship meet.
“We’re looking to rebound off a less than perfect conference meet,” said DeVries. “I know the group is fit and we put together some really good races this year so I’m looking forward to a good Southeast regional championship with some people challenging for all region finishes and looking to establish a good step forward as a team.”
The meet will feature seven men from Kentucky – Jake Allen, Alex Alston, Ed Bird, Cade Byer, Ethan Kern, Harper Moore, and Jackson Watts. On the women’s side, Ainsely Edwards, Ally Kruger, Phoebe McCowan, Lyric Olson, Mollie Roden, Jenna Schwinghamer, and Julz Williams will represent the Wildcats.
The top two teams in the men’s 10K and women’s 6K at each of the nine regional meets will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will take place on Saturday, November 18th in Charlottesville, Virginia. The remaining 14 NCAA Championship at-large teams in each gender will be announced on a selection show on Saturday, November 11th at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com. Additionally, the top four finishers in the regional races who are not members of qualifying teams will also earn a spot to compete in Charlottesville as individuals.
Fans can follow Kentucky Cross Country on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as on UKathletics.com. For live results of the NCAA Southeast Regionals, visit the provided link.
