The University of Louisville men’s and women’s cross country teams will continue their postseason on Friday morning when the NCAA Southeast Regional takes place at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.
The women will kick off the morning with the 6K race slated to begin at 11 a.m., with the men competing over 10K for the first time this season at 12 p.m.
The event will give the opportunity for athletes to qualify for the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will be held on Nov. 19 at the Greiner Family Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla. The top-two scoring teams from each of the nine regional meets will receive an automatic bid, with 13 at-large teams also earning selection following the completion of all regional races. In addition to the 31 teams in the championship field, the top four individuals from each regional who finish in the top-25 overall and are not associated with a placing team will also advance.
Friday’s competition will mark the second time this season Louisville has competed on their home course, the first being the Live in Lou Classic on Oct. 1. It will also be the second consecutive season that the course has hosted the Southeast Regional and the eighth overall, having also hosted the event in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2014. This will be the first time that Louisville has hosted the event since 2014 after the University of Kentucky hosted last fall’s contest.
The Southeast Regional is made up of all Division I cross country programs from Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Louisville is one of 40 teams competing on the women’s side, led by top-ranked N.C. State, enters the meet after winning the ACC Championships in Charlottesville two weeks ago. No. 12 Virginia, No. 15 North Carolina, and No. 28 Furman join the Wolfpack as ranked teams in the field, with Furman earning the Southern Conference championship as well. Other contenders include three other conference champions including Elon from the CAA, Charlotte from Conference USA, and High Point from the Big South.
The Louisville men will face off against representatives from 35 other schools with the field being led by Wake Forest, who jumped up to No. 7 nationally after winning the ACC Championships by placing four runners in the top eight finishers. The rest of the ranked opponents in the field are comprised of No. 12 North Carolina, No. 15 N.C. State, and No. 19 Virginia from the ACC as well as the Conference USA champions from No. 30 Charlotte. Eastern Kentucky, Charleston Southern, and Furman will also take to the course after winning conference championships in the Atlantic Sun, Big South, and the Southern, respectively.
The Cardinals return to the course for the first time since the ACC Championships in Charlottesville, Va. on Oct. 28. Madeline Castleberry earned a personal-best 6K time at Panorama Farms to pace the women, recording a split of 21:24.9. The scoring five remained the same for the Cardinals with Sydney Partyka, Lexie Paszkiewicz, Megan John, and Ellie Maurer tallying points.
The Louisville men were paced by Ian Kibiwot, who led the Cardinals through the line in 23:27.3, just missing out on All-ACC honors with a 23rd-place finish. Louisville placed three more runners in the top 100 finishers with Isaac Kiprop, Forest MacKenzie, and Jack Moore helping the squad to a 12th-place team finish.
For the latest information on Louisville Cross Country/Track and Field, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team’s Instagram and Twitter account at @LouisvilleTFXC or on Facebook at facebook.com/LouisvilleTFXC.
| Lori Korte HarmonAssistant Sports Information Director | Louisville Athletics |
