Cross Country Releases 2017 Schedule
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas cross country team has released its 2017 schedule. Matt Barber enters his fourth season as the head coach for his alma mater. The 2013 graduate that lettered twice for track & field has both men's and women's cross country teams prepared for seven races in the fall.
The campaign starts on September 1st in Tyler, Texas, during the UT Tyler-King Campbell Spectacular. It is a two mile race, so it will be a good preparatory course to start a stretch of races that increase in distance over the remainder of the month. About a week later on Sept. 8th, Dallas will compete a 5k at the Hardin-Simmons University Invitational in Abilene, Texas.
The month wraps up at the Saints Collegiate Invitational hosted by Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 23rd. This race will be the first 6k for the women's team and 8k for the men's side.
Familiarity happens for the Crusaders as the calendar flips to the next portion of the ledger. The next two competitions are on trails Dallas went on last campaign. The first one is on Oct. 7th at the University of Ozarks Invitational. It will be another 8k for the men's team, while the women's have a 5k.
Seven days later, Dallas hosts its lone meet of the season with the University of Dallas Invitational on campus. This marks the third consecutive year the Crusaders will host their own 5k. Finally, the month ends with the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship hosted by Texas Lutheran University in Seguin on Oct. 28th. The race is a 6k for the women and 8k for the men.
The fall season concludes the next weekend in early November. Tentatively, Dallas is awaiting finalizing which competition it will be in. Both are the same distance markers (6k/8k) as the SCAC Championship, and the Crusaders will be in Virginia either way. Nov. 10th is the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Championship at Virginia Beach, and the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship is the 11th at Newport News.
In 2016, Thomas Hogan (St. Louis, Mo.) qualified for All-SCAC Second Team and USCAA All-American Second Team. Hogan notched a school record in the 8k with a time of 26:24 minutes. On the women's side, Angela Moore (Austin, Texas) earned USCAA All-American First Team. She achieved that feat with a UD 6k record of 23:38 minutes.