Cross Country Locked In for XC23 Pre-Nationals

Saturday, October 14

Charlottesville, VA

8:45 a.m.

George Washington University

XC23 Pre-Nationals

10/11/2023 10:45:00 AM | Men's Track/Cross Country, Women's Track/Cross Country

WASHINGTON – The George Washington men's and women's cross country team are set to compete in the XC23 Pre-Nationals hosted by the University of Virginia on Saturday. The event is the final race GW will compete in before the A-10 Championships on Saturday, Oct. 28, in Dayton, Ohio.

LAST TIME OUT
Two weeks ago, the Buff & Blue competed in the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University. The event, which featured 12 different races across the collegiate and high school level, is one of the largest cross country events on the east coast. For the men, the Revolutionaries put together a solid showing, placing third out of 47 teams in the brown race. GW was paced by sophomore Jacob Heredia who tallied an 8K time of 25:05.3 to finish fourth as an individual out of the 409-runner field. For the women, GW tallied a 24^th-place team finish out of 44 squads in the 6K gold race. The Buff & Blue were led by sophomore Sarah Mitchell who recorded a new PR with a time of 21:34.1. Mitchell's time landed her in 78^th out of 402 runners.

REGIONAL RANKINGS
In the most recent USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, GW landed on both the men's and women's list. On the men's side, GW found themselves at 11^th, one spot up from their previous ranking of 12^th two weeks ago. The women clocked in at 12^th on the most recent poll, two spots down from their previous 10^th-place spot. The next set of polls are scheduled to release on Oct. 16 and will be final rankings before conference championships are held across the country from Oct. 26-29.

THE COMPETITION
The XC23 Pre-Nationals, hosted in Charlottesville, Va., is scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m. with the men's orange 8K race. Following the opening race, the men's blue 8K race will begin at 9:40 a.m., and the women's blue 6K race is set for 10:30 a.m. The event will be capped of at 11:00 a.m. with the start of the women's 6K orange race. For GW, 17 other teams will race in the orange 8K. Of the competing teams, only two other A-10 schools will race. Richmond will compete in the orange race along with GW, while La Salle will take part in the blue race.

On the women's side, GW's will compete at 11:00 a.m., along with 20 other schools in the 6K orange race. Of the competing teams on the women's side, Richmond is the only other A-10 school that will be present. The Spiders will race alongside GW in the orange race.

MEET INFORMATION
The event, hosted at Panorama Farms, is a precursor to the NCAA Cross Country Championships which will be held at the same location on Saturday, Nov. 18. This gives teams from across the country the opportunity to race the course which will host the NCAA Championships later this year. Tickets for the event are available using this link. All tickets must be purchased online, no tickets will be available onsite. Cost of tickets are $20 per person and include entry into the event, parking at the venue, and a round-trip shuttle to and from the course. Children under the age of two will not need a ticket.