RICHMOND, Ky. — Tarleton State Cross Country is set to begin their postseason at the inaugural UAC Championships at The Club at Arlington on Friday morning.

The women will kick off the day slated to compete in a 5K beginning at 9 a.m. ET/ 8 a.m. CT. The men will then compete in an 8K race slated to start 45 minutes after the beginning of the women's race starting at 9:45 am ET / 8:45 am CT. Both races will have live results provided by Athletic.net. Both the women's and men's races will also be streamed on ESPN+.

With the formation of the United Athletic Conference on July 1, 2026, this will be the first-ever UAC Cross Country Championship race. In a unique situation, The Club at Arlington is hosting two different conference championships. The UAC races will start the day followed by the Atlantic Sun Conference races afterwards. 

The Texan women have been led by freshman Ava Tannehill and Kaitlyn Gale during the regular season. Tannehill led the Purple and White in each of the first two races of the season earning UAC Freshman of the Week after a top 15 performance in the season opener at the John McKenzie Invitational. Gale led the pack of Texans in the last race setting a new personal best at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Victoria Guerrero joins Gale as the pair that also competed at the WAC Championships last year. The trio will be joined by a quartet of freshman: Lincoln Husbands, Rylie Rivers, Sophia Sandoval and Sadie Larson all making their collegiate conference championships debut.

Diego Flores has paced the Texan men this season leading the team in each of their three races. Flores has set personal bests in two of his three races, most recently in the 8K at the Arturo Barrios Invitational two weeks ago. Fellow returner Tyler Hedgepeth joins Flores as the only two men that also competed at the 2025 WAC Championships a year ago. Hedgepeth has been the consistent number two runner for the Texans following closely behind Flores in all three meets this season. The rest of the Texan men consist of four freshman Ethan Johnston, John Stanczak, Michael Fuller and Will Kimmel all looking to make their conference championship debut on Friday.

Last year, the Texans were led by Gale at the WAC Championships in Arlington, Texas. Gale earned second team All-WAC with a 19th place finish in the meet, the highest by a Texan last year. Guerrero was the second highest finishing Texan woman placing 28th overall at the meet. The duo led the Texans to a top seven team performance. On the men's side, Hedgepeth highlights the returners as the fourth Texan to finish last season in the top 40. Flores will look to improve on his 46th place performance last time around. The men will look to improve on their sixth place finish last season.

Following the conference championship, the Texans will be heading to the NCAA South Central Region Championships on Nov. 13 at College Station. For the latest updates, highlights, content and news follow @tarletontrackxc on Instagram and X.