CANYON, Texas (Nov. 9, 2019) – Oklahoma Christian's women's cross country team will compete in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championship race on Saturday at The Range at West Texas A&M.
The 6,000-meter race – one of eight regional meets held around the nation – will help determine the field for the upcoming NCAA Division II Championships in Sacramento, Calif. The top three teams will advance to the national meet, and with the strength of the South Central Region, odds are good that a handful of other squads will receive one of eight at-large bids to that meet as well.
The top two individuals not on one of the qualifying teams also will qualify for the national meet. All individuals who finish in the top five at the regional meet and who aren't part of a qualifying team automatically will advance. There also will be eight at-large individual selections from all of Division II, to be determined on the Monday after the regional races.
The South Central Region includes the Lone Star Conference and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which is considered the deepest cross country league in Division II. Among the teams in Saturday's race will be No. 1-ranked Adams State (Colo.), No. 3 Colorado School of Mines, No. 6 Western Colorado and No. 12 Colorado-Colorado Springs.
OC is coming off a 10th-place finish at the LSC Championship in Silver City, N.M., two weeks ago. Race time Saturday will be at 9:30 a.m.
OC's squad Saturday will include seniors
Kelsey Castillo of Edmond, Okla.,
Addy Clift of Kiowa, Okla., and
Rylee Rich of Marlow, Okla.; sophomores
Kenya Bailey of Ponca City, Okla., and
Payton Duesing of Lantana, Texas; and freshmen
Emilie Jimenez of Irving, Texas, and
Sara Lindero of Irving, Texas.
"We have done some key workouts that we needed to get in and we are coming around at the right time," OC coach
Wade Miller said. "I think they will be prepared for a good race at regionals."
The Eagles ran at The Range earlier this season at the South Central Regional Preview, placing second out of five teams. Castillo and Bailey finished second and third, respectively, in that race.
"They both raced well at The Range when we were there last," Miller said. "I think they are going to have more confidence on how they approach that course. I'm excited to see how the race plays out and I think there is some good potential for them to finish well."
If Castillo and Bailey – who earned All-LSC honors – run well Saturday, they will have the chance at earning All-Region honors, which go to the top 25 individual finishers.
