FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Tarleton State Men's and Women's Cross Country heads to Arkansas to compete in the program's second-ever NCAA D1 South Central Region Championships on Friday morning at Agri Park Cross Country Course. 

The women's 6K race will kick off the second postseason meet of the year for Tarleton State. The gun is set to go off at 9 a.m. The men's 10K race will follow slated to start at 10 a.m. Admission is free for spectators and live results will be provided by flashresults.com. There will not be a live stream.

"The men have been training in preparation for this 10k race and are looking to improve on last years ninth-place finish," said distance coach Chris Zent. "Our women are looking to finish the cross country campaign strong with new personal bests."

The Texans are no strangers to the Agri Park Cross Country Course. The Purple and White ran their first meet of October at the Chile Pepper Festival hosted by Arkansas earlier this season, with the men placing 11th and the women, 14th. Tyler Hedgepeth led the pack finishing in 49th overall in the 8K race. Frickel and Poole were the next two Texans to finish in 52nd and 67th overall. On the women's side Kaitlyn Gale led the way as she has in the past four races this season. She finished in 33rd place overall. She was followed by Madelyn Hunter and Victoria Guerrero that rounded out the top three Texans.

Last year in the Texans first appearance at the NCAA D1 South Central Region Meet in College Station, the men placed ninth with the women finishing in 27th. Jace Poole was the first finisher to cross the line coming across in 38th place in 20:54.1. The other returning Texans Diego Flores and Kellen Frickel finished in fifth and seventh among the Texans. The only Texan woman that ran for the Purple and White at the meet last season, Gale was the first to cross earning 84th place overall. 

The South Central Regional is one of eight region meets across the country this weekend. The top two teams, and top four individuals not on those teams earn automatic bids to the 2025 NCAA D1 Cross Country Championships at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri. The next best 14 teams adnd two individuals across the eight regionals will also be selected as at-large participants in the NCAA Championships.