University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
NCAA Southeast Regional Championships
Cross Country Set to Compete in Regional Championships
11.09.2023 | Cross Country
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville cross country team is set to take the course this Friday as they compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships in Spartanburg, S.C.
Meet Information
The meet will be held at the Roger Milliken Center, hosted by USC Upstate, on Friday, Nov. 10.
Women's 6k - 11:00 a.m.
Men's 10k - 12:00 p.m.
The results for both races can be found here: https://www.flashresults.com/2024_Meets/xc/NCAASE/
Men's Lineup:
Alex Haines
Adam Hessler
Yates Hockaday
Daniel Hopkins
Quinn Jacquez
Jan Malek
Andrew Okon
Women's Lineup:
Alyx Beausoleil
Zoe Bos
Emma Kennett
Emily Leo
Sophie Lundin
Ella Moore
Isabel Richardson
Meet Preview
Asheville will face some of its toughest competition yet, racing shoulder-to-shoulder with the top 42 schools in the region. After their second-place finish at the Big South Conference Championship in Virginia last month, the men have firmly secured their ranking as 14th in the Southeast Region, with their Conference rivals Charleston Southern now standing in ninth following their win in Virginia. The Bulldogs and Buccaneers will again go head-to-head this Friday, with solid competition also coming from Wake Forest (ranked fourth), whom they competed against at the Covered Bridge Open Meet earlier in the season. Asheville's men's team will also face Furman and Virginia Tech, currently ranked second and 10th in the region. Asheville finished ahead of Virginia Tech at the USC Upstate Invitational Meet on Sept. 30 with a 17-point advantage.
The Bulldogs are charging into Regionals following a successful Conference Championships on both the men's and women's sides. For the men, the pace was set by junior Adam Hessler, who clinched a fourth-place finish in a time of 24:20.3, and Jan Malék, who finished close behind in seventh with a personal-best 24:36.4. The strong performances from both men earned them spots on the All-Conference First Team, with Daniel Hopkins making the All-Conference Second Team with a personal best time of 24:43.5. This was the men's highest place finish at Conference since their second-place finish in 1998.
The women did not come home empty-handed, with freshmen Isabel Richardson and Ella Moore finishing in eighth and 12th to secure places on the All-Conference Second Team. Moore's personal best of 18:11.5 was far from the only PR of the day, with sophomore teammates Sophie Lundin and Emily Leo and fellow freshmen Zoe Bos and Lauren Sochia achieving personal bests. The women improved from finishing in seventh last year to a fourth-place finish this year.
The women will also face several teams they have already seen on the course this season. The Bulldogs will be racing Furman for the second time this season and are currently ranked No. 3 in the Southeast Region, as well as Virginia Tech and South Carolina, who are ranked eighth and 11th going into Regionals. Big South Champions High Point will also look to improve their ranking as they sit at No. 15 in the region following the Big South Conference Championships.
Last season, NC State won on the women's side, with UNC Chapel Hill winning on the men's side. UNC Asheville's men finished in 18th. The top two teams in each region automatically qualify for the championship round, while the DI Cross Country Subcommittee also grants 13 at-large bids. These are reserved for teams who do not qualify in the top two spots in their region but still have a performance worthy of a national championship appearance.
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Players Mentioned
