BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The McNeese cross country programs return to action Friday morning at 9 a.m. (women) and 10 a.m. (men) in the NCAA South Central Regional hosted by Texas A&M.
 
"We are going in optimistic," said head coach Brendon Gilroy. "[We] Need to bring the championship mindset to the starting line. When that gun goes off, they're in shape and need to get after it."

The women will run a 6K race while the men are slated for a 10K, the longest race the latter group will run this season. The men have previously competed in an 8K as their longest race this season.
 
Both squads last competed at the Southland Conference Cross Country Championships held Nov. 1 with the men placing seventh and the women earning eighth.
 
Junior Jeny Barcenas was the top finisher for the Cowgirls in 21^st at the SLC Championships with a mark of 22:33.16 while freshman Ryan McCarthy was the top finisher in 27^th with a time of 26:35.71 for the men.
 
Teams can qualify for the NCAA Championships by finishing in the top two in the team standings while individuals who are not a part of those top two teams can qualify by being one of the first four finishers not a part of the advancing teams.

Men's Entries
James Boutte Jr.
Abdallah Elkhair
Sullivan Hanna
Kevin Kimaiyo
Alex Martin
Ryan McCarthy
Filippo Squassina
 
Women's Entries
Jeny Barcenas
Irene Barrerio-Lopez
Grace French
Thea Pappas
Danielle Salinas
Grace Sullivan
 
Some notable teams competing in include: Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Houston Christian*, UIW*, Lamar*, LSU, New Orleans*, Nicholls*, Southeastern, SMU, Stephen F. Austin*, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, A&M-Corpus Christi*, and UTRGV*. 
(*Denotes Southland Conference team)