Mean Green Set for Conference Championships

DENTON – The 2019 cross country season nears its end as the North Texas men and women head to the Conference USA Cross Country Championships hosted by Western Kentucky at Kereiakes Park.

Action gets going Saturday with the men's 8K beginning at 9 a.m. followed by the women's 5K at 10 a.m.

"It's always exciting when you get to go to the conference championships," head coach Kevin Williams said. "It's going to be tough conditions and we're taking quite a few freshmen so I am excited to see how they compete in their first conference championships."

The field features 11 men's teams in Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Rice, UTEP, UTSA and host WKU. The women's race will add in Southern Miss and UAB taking the field to 13 teams.

The North Texas men will run as the defending champions after a historical win in 2018 and currently sit at no. 11 in the men's USTFCCCA south regional rankings. The Mean Green will be led by senior Florian Lussy who earned first-team all-conference honors in 2018 after a third place individual finish.

"We've had a lot of bad luck with injuries on the men's side, those are unfortunate but there are some positives out of them," Williams said. "A big positive is that we've really had some young people step up in a big way recently so it'll be exciting to see how those young athletes can step up on Saturday."

The North Texas women will be headlined by sophomore Aubrey Schmidt who has been the first Mean Green runner across every finish line this season.

"I think on the women's side we've had good competition so far," Williams said. "There's a high chance of everyone having their best day of the season and I think if we can do that, we can surprise some teams."

Following the races, the first and second place men's and women's teams will receive trophies and the first place teams will receive individual awards. A plaque will be awarded to the top individual winners, men and women. The Outstanding Senior and Freshmen of the Meet Awards will be given to the highest placing senior and freshmen, men and women, at the Championship. Also, a Coach of the Year will be voted upon at the championship meet for the men and women.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Florian Lussy

Aubrey Schmidt

Upcoming Events