ABILENE - Only two weeks removed from a stellar showing at Central Arkansas during the Southland Conference Championships, Abilene Christian cross country once more ventures to the Natural State for this Friday's NCAA South Central Regional Championships.
The women's 6K starts at 11 a.m. followed by the men's 10K at noon. Admission is free to the event held at the University of Arkansas' Agri Park.
The Wildcats will be represented by 15 student-athletes at regionals. Composing the men's team roster are
Levi Chambers,
Seth Crockett,
Colton Gates,
Trevon Hardy, Southland Conference First Team honorees
Kevin Kipkosgei and
Denis Lagat,
Conner Miller and
Gabe Trevino.
Lagat additionally was named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year after placing sixth in the 8K race with a time of 24:16.5, while Kipkosgei was the league's runner-up behind his mark of 24:08.6.
The women's roster features all-Southland Conference selections
Briahna Gerlach and
Carnley Graham in addition to
Hannah Marut,
Loren Rivera,
Sarah Wagler,
Grace White and
Lindsey White.
Gerlach the Wildcats to the finish line with her fourth place 6K time of 21:07.0 to earn her first all-Southland Conference First Team honor, and Graham - a senior - placed sixth for the third consecutive fall to make the league's second team as she finished with a mark of 21:36.6.
This is the program's third trip to Arkansas since early October and second to Fayetteville, which also is the proud host of the annual Chile Pepper Festival, where the Wildcats went toe-to-toe against approximately 600 competitors from 60 schools. Regionals won't be as big as the Chile Pepper in terms of participants, but willstill features some of the very best programs of the SEC and Big 12 conferences based in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
The Arkansas women are ranked No. 1 in the country, while its men are No. 2 in the South Central region behind Texas.Â
ACU is currently ranked 14th in the men's regional rankings of 29 schools, and its women's team is 11th following its fourth-place showing vs. the conference. The Wildcat men placed third at conference, which was their best showing vs. the Southland since rejoining the league in 2013.
