Championship Central
MOBILE, Ala. - The 2018 Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will take place this Saturday, Oct. 27, at the University of South Alabama Brookley Campus in Mobile, Ala. and is hosted by South Alabama.
The women's race will begin at 10:02 a.m. CT, followed by the men at 11:02 a.m. CT.
Both championships will be shown live on ESPN+ and may be viewed at the following link:
https://sunbelt.me/2JkJSFK
UTA heads into the men's championship as the favorite - which was previously voted upon, by the league’s head coaches at the beginning of the season. The Mavericks men’s squad took second place at last year’s Sun Belt Championship and are led by three returning top-seven finishers – Justin Domangue, Joel Duren and Brady Steele.
The Mavericks are ranked No. 6 in the South Central Region. Louisiana is the only other men's cross country program ranked in the USTFCCCA Regional polls at No. 13 in the same region as UTA.
Appalachian State, last year's men's team champion, enters Saturday's race having won two meets in September and have not finished outside of third-place as a team this year.
Coastal Carolina's Nadeel Wildschutt, the reigning men's individual champion, will look to become the first back-to-back champion since the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
On the women's side - Texas State team won its first Sun Belt team title in program history last year as four runners finished in the top five. Three of those four return in 2018 - McKynzie King, Kendra Long and Devina Schneider.
If the Bobcats claim this year's women's title it would mark the first time since 2010 and 2011 a team has won back-to-back women's team titles. The Bobcats enter the race ranked No. 10 in the South Central Region. Arkansas State, which finished fourth at last year’s championship, checks in at No. 9 in the same region.
Appalachian State is ranked No. 14 in the Southeast Region and was the team runner-up in 2017.
The Chants' Lisha Van Onselen returns for her junior season and is the top returning performer from last year's championship. Van Onselen finished second in 2017.
Top Seven Men’s Returners to Watch
Hutson Baumann (Coastal Carolina, Senior)
Gable Dershem (Appalachian State, Sophomore)
Justin Domangue (UTA, Junior)
Joel Duren (UTA, Senior)
Joseph Meade (Texas State, Senior)
Brady Steele (UTA, Junior)
Nadeel Wildschutt (Coastal Carolina, Junior)
Top Seven Women’s Returners to Watch
McKynzie King (Texas State, Sophomore)
Kendra Long (Texas State, Junior)
Lotte Meyberg (Georgia State, Sophomore)
Carolien Millenaar (South Alabama, Sophomore)
Devina Schneider (Texas State, Senior)
Lisha Van Onselen (Coastal Carolina, Junior)
Shanieke Watson (Little Rock, Senior)