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ABILENE, Texas – If any member of The University of the Incarnate Word cross country teams feels nervous prior to the 2017 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships – scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 27 from the ACU Cross Country Course – then he or she should think back to Sept. 16.
Back in September, the Cardinals competed strongly on the same course they will step foot on Friday morning.
Deion Hardy finished first overall, helping the men to a first-place finish, and earned his first of two SLC Male Runner of the Week award. The women placed third overall, led by
Emily Wilson. One difference between that September race and Friday will be the temperature. September saw a temperature in the mid-70s; Friday will see temperatures in the low 40s with breezy conditions at race time.
STARTING LINE
The women's 6k begins at 8:30 a.m., followed by the men's 8k at 9:30. The course is located at 1963 E N 10
th St. in Abilene, to the west of Interstate 20 and 1.9 miles east of Abilene Christian University.
The Cardinal men will look to dethrone four-time defending conference champion, Lamar. Senior Freddie Gasbarri is the leading returner for LU, as he finished second overall in last year's conference championships. LU enters Friday's meet ranked 11
th in the NCAA Division I South Central Regional ranking.
The McNeese men have made the largest jump in the regional polls throughout the season, starting at No. 14 and entering Friday's meet ranked fourth. The Cowboys placed third in last year's championships and return Enrique Soto, who finished fifth overall last year.
The Cardinal women will have to contend with the two-headed twin monster of ACU's own Michaela and Alexandria Hackett. The sisters both redshirted last season. Alexandria won the 2015 conference race.
The SFA women are the defending conference champion, as the Ladyjacks held seven Top-20 spots in last season's race. Fans unable to attend can follow the live stream through Southland's Facebook page,
https://www.facebook.com/southlandsports. The live results will come from Flash Results,
http://flashresultstexas.com/2017/slcxc17/.
BELL LAP
UIW set program records with the highest individual finish at last season's conference meet in Nacogdoches, Texas, as
Garett Cortez finished seventh out of 97 runners, with a time of 24:35.6. With his Top-10 finish, the Schertz native earned Second Team All-Conference honors. This season, the men enter the conference meet ranked 15
th in the NCAA South Central Regional.
Danielle Martinez also earned Second Team All-SLC accolades, as she placed eighth out of 89 runners with a time of 21:54.4. The women are currently unranked in the region after starting the season 15
th and as high as 12
th.
UP NEXT
UIW will compete in its first NCAA championship as a member of Division I when the Cardinals head to College Station, Texas, for the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 10.
STAY TUNED
The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are slated for Nov. 18 from the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
For the most up-to-date information on Incarnate Word Athletics visit uiwcardinals.com. Be sure to follow Incarnate Word Athletics on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like Incarnate Word Athletics on Facebook at UIW Athletics.
