JONESBORO, Ark. (8/3/2011) — Five
regular-season meets will be on tap for the season when the Arkansas State Cross
Country teams begin their 2011 competition Sept. 3 at the Brooks Memphis
Twilight Run.
The Red Wolves will then run in the Sept. 9
Arkansas Tech Twilight run, followed by the Sept. 23 UALR Invitational. The Greater Louisville Classic is slated for
Oct. 1 before the regular season wraps up with the University of Arkansas Chile
Pepper Festival in Fayetteville.
The Sun Belt Conference Championships are
scheduled for Oct. 29 in Bowling Green, Ky., with the South Central Regional
set for Nov. 12 in Waco, Texas. Indiana
State University will host the 2011 NCAA Championships Nov. 21 in Terre Haute.
“Our 2011 schedule is very competitive and
will certainly prepare us for the Sun Belt Conference Championships,” said
first-year head coach Jim Patchell. “We
return four of our top five runners on the women's side, and our men's squad
has enough young talent to make us very competitive. We are ready to go to work and are very
excited to meet the challenges that the upcoming season will bring.”
Arkansas State's women's team finished third
at the 2010 Sun Belt Conference meet and 12th a the South Central
Regional. The third-place SBC finish was
the highest ever for the ASU women's program.
The ASU women's team will be led by sophomore
Kristina Aubert, who finished fourth at last year's SBC meet and was named the
league's Freshman of the Year. Seniors
Chelsea Weaver and Sydney Foreman, along with junior Samantha Salinas are
expected to provide solid depth as well.
On the men's side, junior David Mills is the
Red Wolves' top returner and will lead a host of young talent as they try to
build on last year's eighth-place finish at the SBC meet.
