The University of Southern Indiana men’s and women’s cross country teams are back in action Saturday when they host the Stegemoller Classic at Angel Mounds. The women’s 5k race begins at 8:30 am with the men’s 8k race to follow at 9:15 am.
With the NCAA II Cross Country Championships at Angel Mounds in November, there are a number of teams making the trek to Evansville this weekend. Joining the Screaming Eagles are Bellarmine University, California University of Pennsylvania, Concord University, Colorado State University-Pueblo, Lee University, Lewis University, Lincoln Memorial University, Northwest Missouri State University, Queens University of Charlotte, Trevecca Nazarene University as well as Division I schools Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, SIU Edwardsville and University of Tennessee at Martin.
In the latest U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association polls, both USIÂ teams are in the top five, with the women remaining fifth and the men climbing one spot to fifth.
CSU-Pueblo, Lewis, Lee, Northwest Missouri State and Queens, N.C. on the men’s side all competed at the Championships last year and are all ranked coming into this weekend’s meet. Bellarmine is receiving votes.
On the women’s side, CSU-Pueblo, Lee, and Queens, N.C. also competed at last year’s Championships. Lee and Queens are represented in this week’s top 25, while Lewis and Bellarmine are receiving votes. CSU-Pueblo dropped out of the most recent poll.
UT Martin’s men’s team is 14th in the South Region poll, while their women are 15th in the region. USI finished a spot ahead of the Skyhawks in both the men’s and women’s team results at the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, North Carolina, two weeks ago.
At the Covered Bridge Open, the USI men finished second as senior James Cecil (Owensboro, Kentucky) paced the Eagles with a fourth-place finish. The women also ran well, taking third with juniors Hope Jones(Cumberland, Indiana) and Melina Gryschka (Garbsen, Germany) placing fourth and sixth, respectively.
