July 8, 2008

McNeese State has slated eight cross country meets for the coming season and will kick of the year with its own event.

The Cowboys and the Cowgirls will host the McNeese six mile relay on Sept. 2 to start the season. Teams entered thus far are UL-Lafayette and Southeastern Louisiana with Lamar a possibility.

This meet will take place at the Ward 3 Parks and Recreation complex on Lake Street.

The other meets for the Cowboys and the Cowgirls will be on the road, highlighted by an appearance in the Auburn Invitational on Oct. 4 and the Southland Conference championship meet Nov. 3 in Nacogdoches, TX and hosted by Stephen F. Austin.

McNeese will also run at Louisiana Tech on Sept. 13, at UT San Antonio on Sept. 20 and at Sam Houston State on Oct. 18. Also on the schedule are the NCAA regionals in Waco, TX and the NCAA championship meet Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, IN.

The university will also sponsor the Cowboy 5K stampede for high schools only on Oct. 11.

Key returnees for McNeese will be Amy Guinn and Tinette Burger for the Cowgirls while Jordan Neil, who performed well during the spring track season, will be among the leaders for the Cowboys.

Jordan Neil will led the Cowboys.

A year ago the Cowboys finished 5th at the conference meet while the Cowgirls did not have enough runners for a team finish. Burger, who had won two SLC runner of the week awards, was injured during the conference meet and did not finish the race.

Head coach Brendon Gilroy said that he expected to see improvement in both teams in the coming season.

He said that he had a good crop of rookie runners joining both squads.

McNeese State 2008 Cross Country Schedule

Sept. 2 McNeese Six Mile Relay (Lake Charles)

Sept. 13 Louisiana Tech Invite (Ruston, LA)

Sept. 20 UT San Antonio Fiesta Texas Invite (San Antonio, TX)

Oct. 4 Auburn Invite (Auburn, AL)

Oct. 11 Cowboy 5K Stampede (High Schools Only)

Oct. 18 Sam Houston State Invite (Huntsville, TX)

Nov. 3 SLC Championship (at Nacogdoches, TX)

Nov. 15 NCAA Regionals (Waco, TX)

Nov. 24 NCAA Championship (Terre Haute, IN)