TCU looks to prolong season at South Central Regional
11/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
Nov. 8, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU men's and women's cross country teams will continue postseason competition on Saturday in Waco, Texas, at the South Central Regional. The meet will be held at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course and will consist of the women's 6K at 10 am and the men's 10K at 11:15 am.
The Horned Frogs enter Saturday's meet after competing at the Mountain West Conference Championships two weeks ago, where the women finished fifth and the men finished sixth.
TCU enters Saturday's meet in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history. The Horned Frogs have had individuals qualify for the NCAA Championships the last three years, but never a team.
Both the men and women will be looking to leave a permanent mark on the TCU cross country program when they travel to the South Central Regional. At stake for both squads is an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. In order to qualify for one of the 31 coveted spots at the championships, the Horned Frogs must finish in the top two at the South Central Regional or hope for one of the 13 at-large berths. The field at the championships is made up of the top-two teams from the nine regionals and 13 at large berths, which are determined by the track and field committee.
Individually, the top four runners from each regional not on one of the top-two teams will qualify for the NCAA Championships.
TCU's women's team is led by senior Calandra Stewart, who has led TCU in all four meets. Stewart has top-four finishes in three meets this season, and also placed 14th out of 245 runners in the NCAA Pre-Nationals. Stewart placed second at the Mountain West Conference Championships with a time of 21:10.9 in the 6K. Stewart placed fourth at the Cowboy Jamboree and earned the second scoring position with a time of 17:31 in the 5K. In the women's 2-mile at the North Texas Invitational, Stewart placed third with a time of 11:06.38.
TCU's men's team is led by freshman Festus Kigen, who won the Texas A&M Invitational on Sept. 16 and was named Mountain West Conference Male Athlete of the Week for his performance. Kigen also placed 13th at the MWC Championships.
