WKU Set to Host C-USA Cross Country Championships

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Cross Country is set to host the Conference USA Championships at Kereiakes Park Saturday, Nov. 2.

The men will open competition with an 8k beginning at 9 a.m. CT, with the women's 5k set to start at 10 a.m., followed by the awards ceremony after the conclusion of the races.

This will be the WKU's first time hosting the conference championships since the 2015 season.

The men are set to have nine student-athletes compete in the 8k while eight women will participate in the 5k. Donnie Fry, Luke Hoover, Will Perrone, Clint Sherman, Jacob Skillman, Ethan Snyder, Jacob Steppe, Dedrick Troxell and Emerson Wells are set to race on the men's side, while Kaia Enevoldsen, Savannah Heckman, Morgan Kannapel, Carley Maskos, Jenna Vaughn, Haley Webb, Kacy Weinburg and Heather Whitlow will compete on the women's side.

Both squads recently closed out regular season competition at the UE Invitational Oct. 19, with both teams earning top-five finishes. The men's squad placed fourth in their meet while the women's team earned a fifth-place finish in their race.

"From an improvement standpoint, comprehensively, we've made significant improvements," said cross country head coach Tim Sykes. "We started the season and really were just training through the first month, so that included the first two to three competitions. So, we ran on tired legs, raced on tired legs a lot – really just trying to train through that part of the season.

"As we've gotten more into the race-specific training period, the men and women have responded really well to doing some faster interval and repetition work – and we've been seeing it in results. It's really just an accumulative effect of the training that's starting to really get everyone excited about this championship period that we're in."

Heckman currently owns the women's best mark in the 5k this season, posting a time of 18:58.7 at the Greater Louisville Classic. On the men's side, Wells holds the top 8k time on the team with a 24:59.0 mark at the Greater Louisville Classic.

For the championships, the men's squad will compete against Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Rice, UTEP and UTSA, while the women will face the previously listed schools along with Southern Miss and UAB.

"We're excited to host and to bring these teams from all over the U.S. in and showcase what a nice training venue and racing venue we have," said Sykes. "I think it will really be a nice spectator course and a really athlete-friendly course as well."

Next on WKU's schedule is the NCAA Southeast Regional in Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 15.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kaia Enevoldsen

Donnie Fry

Savannah Heckman

Luke Hoover

Morgan Kannapel

Carley Maskos

Will Perrone

Clint Sherman

Jacob Skillman

Ethan Snyder

Jacob Steppe

Dedrick Troxell

Jenna Vaughn

Haley Webb

Kacy Weinburg

Emerson Wells

Heather Whitlow