KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the signing of three separate multi-year hosting contracts for its men’s and women’s Cross Country National Championships. Visit Tallahassee/Leon County, Columbia College (Mo.) and the Cascade Collegiate Conference have each agreed to separate deals which secure a host site for the association through the 2030 season.

Visit Tallahassee/Leon County will host the championships in both 2022 and 2025 at the Apalachee Regional Park Course in Tallahassee Florida.

“Visit Tallahassee is honored to partner with the NAIA to continue their tradition of providing exceptional championship experiences for their student athletes, coaches, and spectators,” said Kerri L. Post, Executive Director of Visit Tallahassee. “Hosting these championships in Tallahassee plays a major role in our communities continued commitment to the sport of cross country and we look forward to welcoming everyone to Tallahassee and the nationally renowned cross country course at Apalachee Regional Park,”

Columbia College, in partnership with the Columbia Sports Commission and the City of Columbia, signed an agreement to host the championships in 2024, 2027 and 2030 in Columbia, Mo. The races will be held at Gans Creek Cross Country Course.

“It is truly a special opportunity to host this Championship on our home course and it will be an experience our student-athletes will never forget,” said James Arnold, director of Athletics at Columbia College. “We are thrilled to welcome teams from around the country to Columbia and facilitate a first-class event for everyone involved.”

The Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) will extend its current agreement, which includes the 2021 and 2023 championships, in 2026 and 2029. The races will be held at Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course in Vancouver, Washington.

“The Pacific Northwest has an amazing tradition for running and we are thrilled to continue our partnership with the NAIA in hosting the Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country National Championships,” stated CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell. “The 2029 races will mark our 10th time hosting at the beautiful and unique Historic Fort Vancouver site with the outstanding folks at the National Park and Visit Vancouver fully embracing the event and participants.”

The extension for the Cascade and new host agreements are a welcome announcement for the NAIA heading into the 2021 championships.

“These three agreements display a commitment from several hosts to provide our student-athletes a quality championship experience,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “We are thrilled to have all three of these hosts in the mix for years to come.”

The post NAIA announces agreement with Tallahassee/Leon County to host XC championships appeared first on Southeast Sports Net.

CONCORD, N.C. – Emmanuel took both the men’s and women’s team titles at the 2021 Conference Carolinas Spring Cross Country Championships on Friday, Jan. 29 at Frank Liske Park.

Emmanuel narrowly held off second-place King in both the men’s and women’s cross country championships. North Greenville finished third as a team in the women’s championship, while Lees-McRae collected third-place honors in men’s cross country.

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in a 5K with Lizzie Naval of Erskine finishing with a time of 19:58.3 to earn the individual championship in women’s cross country. Cas Kopmels of Mount Olive secured the men’s individual title with a time of 15:32.4.

Women’s Final Results (LINK)

Men’s Final Results (LINK)

2021 Spring Men’s Cross Country Championship
Individual Award Winners

Runner of the Year
Cas Kopmels, Mount Olive

Freshman of the Year
Cas Kopmels, Mount Olive

Coach of the Year
Rick Wilson, Emmanuel

Elite 23
Ethan Hargrove, North Greenville

2021 Spring Women’s Cross Country Championship
Individual Award Winners

Runner of the Year
Lizzie Naval, Erskine

Freshman of the Year
Monique Whiteman, Mount Olive

Coach of the Year
Mary Wilson, Emmanuel

Elite 23
Jadyn Slaughter, North Greenville

2021 Spring Men’s Cross Country Championship
Final Team Results

1. Emmanuel
2. King
3. Lees-McRae
4. Mount Olive
5. Belmont Abbey
6. North Greenville
7. Erskine
8. Barton

2021 Spring Women’s Cross Country Championship
Final Team Results

1. Emmanuel
2. King
3. North Greenville
4. Converse
5. Mount Olive
6. Erskine
7. Belmont Abbey
8. Lees-McRae
9. Chowan

2021 Spring Men’s Cross Country Championship
All-Conference

First Team
Cas Kopmels, Mount Olive
Shane Shelafoe, Emmanuel
Ethan Hargrove, Emmanuel
Jacob Holcombe, North Greenville
Jordan Keith, King
Samuel Lynch, Belmont Abbey
Tristin Bertie, Lees-McRae

Second Team
Noah Woodbury, Erskine
Griffin Stephens, Emmanuel
Kade McDonald, King
Mattia Marci, Mount Olive
Demarco Hernandez, Emmanuel
Elias Zajicek, Lees-McRae
Silas Arendash, Lees-McRae

Third Team
Thomas Thierfelder, Belmont Abbey
Alexander Andrade-Sosa, Emmanuel
Ashton Olmstead, Mount Olive
Josh Booher, King
Damien Gonzalez, Barton
Jesus Pacheco, King
Jake Allison, King

2021 Spring Women’s Cross Country Championship
All-Conference

First Team
Lizzie Naval, Erskine
Monique Whiteman, Mount Olive
Meg Davis, King
Kylie Futrell, North Greenville
Sarah Green, Emmanuel
Alexa Quarles, Emmanuel
Bayley Robinson, Converse

Second Team
Caroline Felkel, Converse
Katy Neubert, King
Piper Grant, Converse
Hailey Russell, Barton
Morgan Dutton, Erskine
Madeline Merrell, North Greenville
Destiny Haller, King

Third Team
Deanna Betzer, Lees-McRae
Paige Trent, North Greenville
Taylor Farmer, Emmanuel
Meghan Little, Belmont Abbey
Briannah Henry, Emmanuel
Ashley Ledgerwood, Emmanuel
Josias Mickens, Lees-McRae

The post Emmanuel sweeps 2021 Conference Carolinas Spring Cross Country Championships appeared first on Southeast Sports Net.

AVE MARIA, Fla. – The Southeastern University women’s cross country team won their second Sun Conference championship in a row, and third in four years on Saturday.

The Fire had all five of their scoring runners place among the top seven for a team score of 19, beating Ave Maria by 61.

“I felt we had the team to win this year, but have had a lot of challenges with injuries and illness,” said coach Paul Kurtz. “I think we came out and with our depth, we were able to put it all together and do what we needed to do, and do it in great fashion.”

Junior Julia Rohm cruised to victory and picked up her sixth win of the season, along with Sun Conference Runner of the Year honors and First Team All-Sun Conference recognition in a time of 18:36.

“Being out front all year has made me mentally stronger because I know I need to keep myself accountable,” said Rohm. “It felt pretty good to win after being third my freshman year and second last year, and I’m just really thankful for the opportunity that God has given me to run and be a part of this team.”

Raeanna Pabon was second in 18:59. Junior Isabel Oliveto was fourth in 19:35 with Makenzie Johnson following in 19:51. Emma McLaughlin was seventh with a time of 20:16. Those four joined Rohm on the first team.

Earning second team honors were Kathy Macedo and Madison Lilienthal, placing 13^th and 14^th in times of 20:53 and 20:55, respectively.

Senior Makayla Kalapuch was 20^th in a time of 21:46.

Kurtz earned his fourth Sun Conference Coach of the Year selection in women’s cross country since 2016.

The post Southeastern women’s cross country win back-to-back Sun Conference championships appeared first on Southeast Sports Net.

AVE MARIA, Fla. – The Southeastern University men’s cross country team won its first Sun Conference title in dominating fashion on Saturday.

Southeastern had a team score of 25 points, beating the host Ave Maria by 68 points for the title.

“The depth of our team showed,” said coach Paul Kurtz. “Some of our guys didn’t have their best day, but we still had a great team score and had five of the top 10 which is impressive in a championship like this.”

John Perez-Dunn led the way once again, placing second in a time of 26:54, and was followed 17 seconds later by senior Jordan Gonzalez.

“Jordan is a hard worker and has done a lot of training on his own because of class,” Kurtz said. “I’m really happy for him, he’s had a really good season for us and career.”

Sophomore Stephen Ward was fifth overall in a time of 27:30, and Christopher Pinedo was seventh in 27:43. Those four earned First Team All-Sun Conference recognition.  

David Milburn finished eighth in a time of 27:50. Freshman Drew Knobl along with Milburn earned Second Team All-Sun Conference by placing 10^th in 27:56.

Kurtz was named The Sun Conference Coach of the Year in guiding the Fire to their first title.

“It’s pretty special,” said Kurtz of winning the team title. “It’s been a great year and they’ve really bought into what we are doing and this is just a stepping stone for them to see that they are a national-caliber team.”

The post Southeastern men’s cross country team wins first Sun Conference title appeared first on Southeast Sports Net.

LAKELAND, Fla. — The Southeastern University cross country team was almost perfect in its second meet of the season.
 
With a score of 18, the Fire were just three points away from a perfect score and were almost 70 points clear of second place Ave Maria with an average time that was more than two minutes faster.
 
“We had a little bit different strategy this week to take it out a little bit easier at a tempo pace for the first mile and a half and they executed that perfectly and moved up through the pack and did what we came here to do,” said coach Paul Kurtz.
 
Junior Julia Rohm was in control for most of the 5K race, winning the overall title for the second year in a row and posting a time of 19:33.
 
“The first two miles were comfortably fast, then I tried to pick it up a little bit the last mile,” said Rohm, who is unbeaten this season. “It felt pretty good today. It was really good to run with my team at the beginning and we all feel good running together.”
 
Senior Raeanna Pabon was 27 seconds behind Rohm, placing second in 20:00.
 
“I’m kind of known for being one of the better pacers on the team, so I wanted to make sure that we ran at a comfortable pace and have some strength at the end,” said Pabon.
 
The Fire had seven of the Top 10 runners with sophomores Liliana Baker and Emma Woltjer followed by junior Isabel Oliveto finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth and doing so within nine seconds. Baker posted a time of 20:32 followed by Woltjer at 20:36, and Oliveto at 20:41.
 
“We really pushed each other the first mile and got in a groove and it was nice to run all together,” said Baker. “I underestimated the sand a little bit so it was tough to find some footing at the beginning.”
 
Makenzie Johnson was eighth in 20:55 and Emma McLaughlin ninth in 21:03.
 
Next Saturday, the Fire will run at Ave Maria University in a preview of The Sun Conference Championship.

The post Southeastern women cruise to second cross country meet win of the year appeared first on Southeast Sports Net.

AUGUSTA, GA – Coming off back-to-back conference titles, the Flagler Saints have been selected as the 2020 Peach Belt Conference women’s cross country preseason favorites in a poll of the league’s head coaches released on Thursday. The Saints received seven of a possible 10 first-place votes in the poll for 97 points. Augusta and North Georgia finished in a tie for second, each collecting two first-place votes and 88 total points. Columbus State was fourth with UNC Pembroke fifth, Georgia Southwestern sixth and Clayton State seventh. Francis Marion, Lander, Young Harris and USC Aiken rounded out the voting.

Flagler captured their second consecutive PBC Championship in 2019, their third overall, and finished second at the NCAA Regionals, earning a second straight trip to the NCAA National Championships. Two seniors return from that team for the 2020 season led by Malia Cryan, who finished second at the PBC Championship and ninth at the NCAA Regional. Senior Allison Horwitch was also named PBC All-Conference in 2019 as were returning juniors Lindsey Williams and Jessie Mescal.

Augusta finished third at the 2019 PBC meet and were sixth at the NCAA Regional. The Jaguars will have a different look for 2020 following the departure of five seniors and graduates with five freshmen incoming this fall. Miranda Taylor is the lone senior on the team after finishing ninth at the 2019 PBC Championships and earning All-Conference honors. Also back are juniors Madison Congdon and Sarah Davis.

North Georgia has finished in either first or second in the PBC Championship for six years in a row, including a second-place finish in 2019. With new head coach Christopher England at the helm, the Nighthawks are poised to make another charge. UNG brings back five seniors for 2020 along with 2019 PBC Freshman of the Year and All-Conference performer Karmen Leroy. Also back is sophomore Olivia Henry who was named All-Conference in 2019.

The 2020 season will begin on Saturday, Oct. 3. The season has been shortened due to the COVID-19 and all NCAA Championships have been cancelled. Most teams will participate in three meets before running at the PBC Championship, which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14, and hosted by the University of North Georgia. The PBC meet will be run on the Gainesville campus in Oakwood, Ga.

The preseason poll results are below with first-place votes in parentheses.  Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.

2020 Peach Belt Women’s Cross Country
Preseason Coaches Poll

The post Flagler voted Peach Belt women’s cross country favorite in preseason poll appeared first on Southeast Sports Net.