BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University men's and women's cross-country teams will compete at the NCAA Division I South Regional Cross Country Championships on Friday, Nov. 11, at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
It will be the Bulldogs' first race since the Southern Conference Championships on Oct. 29.
At conference, both the men's and women's squads tallied runner-up finishes, which represented the best collective showing in program history. Samford landed four total athletes on the All-SoCon First Team, including Women's Runner of the Year
Karisa Nelson.
Nelson, a junior, won the individual conference title in a personal-best 5K time 16 minutes, 22.62 seconds. She became the first Samford woman to accomplish that feat since former star Lauren D'Alessio took top honors in 2012.
On Friday, Nelson will try and follow in D'Alessio's footsteps once again. No Samford woman has qualified for the NCAA national cross-country meet since D'Alessio punched her ticket in 2012. Nelson could be on the cusp of securing an individual qualifying spot.
Junior
Emma Garner, who finished fourth at conference in 16:55.42, will also be one to watch.
At regionals, the top two teams and top four individuals not on one of those teams earn bids to the national meet.
The Bulldog women enter Friday's competition ranked No. 14 in the region, according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll released Oct. 31.
The Bulldog men, meanwhile, enter the meet ranked No. 7. They are led by junior Arséne Guillorel, who is coming off a personal-record setting performance. Guillorel placed third at conference in an 8K personal-best 23:36.69. He had never before broken 24 minutes at the distance.
On Friday, Guillorel will aim to qualify for nationals for a second-straight year. In 2015, he sealed his trip to NCAAs by finishing second at the regional meet.
Redshirt senior
Brandon Hazouri and sophomore
Ben Bryant will also be names to keep an eye on. The two have pushed each other toward the front of the pack throughout the season.
A total of 36 women's teams and 31 men's teams are slated to compete. The women will race a 6K, and the men will race a 10K.
The 6K is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. (EST). The 10K will follow at 9:30 a.m. For updates throughout the morning, follow @SamfordTrack on Twitter.
