Nov. 13, 2008
The NCAA South Central Regional, held this weekend at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco, presents an opportunity for the No. 22 Texas A&M men's cross country squad to qualify as a team for the NCAA Championships for the first time in five years.
Texas A&M's cross country crew starts a triple header of events involving the Aggies in Waco this Saturday. Race time is 10 a.m. for the women and 10:45 for the men at the NCAA South Central Regional. A&M volleyball follows at noon with a match against Baylor while the Aggie football team plays the Bears at 3 p.m.
The top two teams at each of the nine region meets will secure an automatic berth into the championship meet while the top four individual finishers not on an advancing team qualify as well. The Aggie men were third last season with 101 points. Since 1982 the best finish by an A&M men's squad was second place on three occasions - 1982, 1999 and 2003.
Heading into the regional as the highest ranked men's program, the Aggies face a challenge from No. 24 Arkansas, Lamar and Texas, who are ranked 2-3-4 in the South Central Region behind No. 1 Texas A&M. It would be only the sixth time in the history of the program for the A&M men to advance to the NCAA Championship meet in cross country, the last time coming in 2003.
Shadrack Songok, who was recently the Big 12 runner-up for Texas A&M, won the South Central title the last time the race was held in Waco, taking the 2006 victory in 29:41 over the 10,000-meter course. He defended his regional title in Arkansas last fall with a 29:17 winning time.
The Aggie men's squad competing at the South Central Region meet will include Mitch Bible, Kevin McNab, Graham Northcutt, Joe Sauvageau, and Logan Sherman.
For the Aggie women, Christina Munoz will seek her second consecutive NCAA berth. Last season she claimed the fourth and final position as an individual qualifier with her fifth-place effort over the 6,000-meter course.
The women's crew competing in Waco also consists of Kirsten Brown, Emilie Fischer, Elizabeth Slaughter. The A&M women head into the regional ranked No. 6 among South Central teams.
Current South Central Region Rankings (National rankings indicated)
Men: 1. Texas A&M (No. 22); 2. Arkansas (No. 24); 3. Lamar; 4. Texas; 5. LSU; 6. Stephen F. Austin; 7. UT-Pan American; 8. Rice; 9. Baylor; 10. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi.
Women: 1. Arkansas (No. 12); 2. Baylor (No. 18); 3. SMU (No. 19); 4. Rice (No. 22); 5. Texas; 6. Texas A&M; 7. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi; 8. Houston; 9. Stephen F. Austin; 10. Texas State.