North Carolina cross country heads to Spartanburg, S.C., on Friday for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships, with both the women’s and men’s teams looking to navigate a crowded field at the Milliken Research Park Center course.
The women’s 6k gets underway at 10:00 a.m., followed by the men’s 10k at 11:00 a.m.
UNC’s women enter the meet ranked No. 18 and will be tested immediately by a deep group that includes several familiar ACC foes. NC State, the reigning champion and No. 2 team in the country, headlines the field, along with No.
12 Clemson, No. 14 Virginia, No.
19 Duke and No. 22 Virginia.
The Tar Heels also draw No. 9 South Carolina, plus conference champions Appalachian State, Furman and High Point.
Junior Ciara O’Shea has been the anchor for Carolina’s women this season. She has posted multiple top-10 finishes and most recently placed in the top 25 at the ACC Championship, where she ran a personal best in the 6k at 19:47.5.
The men will face a similarly tough lineup, with ACC competition front and center. Wake Forest, ranked ninth in the USTFCCCA poll and the ACC team champion, is in the mix, along with No.
15 Virginia Tech, No. 18 Eastern Kentucky and No.
23 Furman.
Caden Leonard, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, leads the Tar Heels after a season that has included several top-15 finishes. He was ninth at the ACC Championships, earning All-ACC honors in his first campaign.
The regional carries national championship implications as well. The top two teams in each race earn automatic qualification, while additional teams and individual runners can still receive at-large selections.
Friday’s meet features a long list of schools, including App State, Bellarmine, Campbell, Charleston Southern, Charlotte, Citadel, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Col. of Charleston, Davidson, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Elon, Furman, Gardner-Webb, George Mason, Hampton, High Point, James Madison, Kentucky, Liberty, Longwood, Louisville, Morehead State, Murray State, NC Central, NC State, Norfolk State, North Carolina, Northern Kentucky, Queens, Radford, Richmond, South Carolina, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, UNCW, USC Upstate, VMI, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Western Carolina, Western Kentucky, William & Mary, Winthrop and Wofford.
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