2009 South Central Regional Homepage

ABILENE - The Tarleton men's cross country team will travel to Abilene this weekend to compete in the 2009 South Central Regional Championships.  The meet will take place at Grover Nelson Park, across from the Abilene Zoo.

"We are at that point in the year where the season either comes to an end or we keep training for the national championship meet," Tarleton head cross country coach Pat Ponder said.  "This is what the guys have worked for all year long and now that it's here, I really hope they achieve their goal to move on to nationals."

The Texans come into the meet following a second-place finish at the Lone Star Conference Championships in Canyon two weeks ago.  Gerzain Valenzuela finished fourth overall and Jared McNeil crossed the finish line in ninth-place at the championships to earn all-LSC honors.

This is Tarleton's second consecutive trip to the regional meet.  Last season the Texans finished sixth overall, despite McNeil finishing eighth overall to earn all-region accolades.  Former Texan Kolin Styles finished in 15th-place as the only other Texan to finish in the top 20.

More than 10 teams from the LSC, Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and Heartland Conference will be competing in the championships.  The top three teams will advance to the national championships on Saturday, Nov. 21, in Evansville, Ind.

"The three teams that move on the national championships will be the teams that do at least three things," Ponder said.  "They will execute the race plan, they will not fold under pressure and they will run a smart and aggressive race.  If we can do all three, we can move on."