A-State Men Picked Third In USTFCCCA Preseason Regional Rankings; Women Picked Seventh
JONESBORO, Ark. (8/30/21) – With the 2021 cross country season on the horizon, the USTFCCCA released its preseason regional coaches poll on Monday, featuring both Arkansas State teams inside the top seven in the South Central region.
A-State’s men were picked to finish third in the region behind Arkansas and Texas, while the women were picked seventh out of 15 teams ranked. The top two team finishers at each of the nine NCAA Regional Championships held in November clinch automatic bids to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, held Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Fla.
In 2019, the last time the regional round was held, both A-State squads registered program-best sixth-place finishes behind all-region finishers Bennett Pascoe and Pauline Meyer. Both runners return with hopes of continuing to lead the program to greater heights under Head Cross Country Coach Jesse Duvall, who is entering his third year leading the A-State distance group.
Last season, the Red Wolves repeated as women’s Sun Belt Conference champions while the men finished third as a team and Pascoe earned a spot in the NCAA Championships as the league’s individual champion. Both teams return multiple scorers from the 2020 season. The Sun Belt Conference is slated to release its preseason poll Wednesday.
A-State opens up the 2021 campaign Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Rhodes College Invitational, held at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis.
