JONESBORO, Ark. (10/27/23) – A pair of conference titles are on the line, as the Arkansas State cross country teams are set to compete in the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Saturday morning in Foley, Ala.

The meet will be hosted at the Graham Creek Nature Preserve for the second consecutive season. A-State’s men are seeking their third conference title in a row, while the women are looking to return to the top of the conference for the fourth time in five seasons.

Starting gun for the women’s 5K is set for 10:02 a.m., with the men’s 8K set to follow at 11 a.m. Both races will be broadcasted live on ESPN+, while live results can be found here.

3 THINGS TO KNOW:

1.     CONTENDER STATUS: In the previous four seasons under the guidance of head cross country coach Jesse Duvall, Arkansas State has cemented itself as an annual contender for the cross country team titles. A-State’s men’s squad is vying for its third consecutive conference title, while the women are looking to win their fourth in the last five seasons. Since 2019, A-State has finished no lower than third in either conference championship race.

2.     LAST TIME OUT: The Red Wolves turned in a dozen personal-best performances in their last meet, the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Jacob Pyeatt led the men’s team to its fourth top-10 finish in as many events, placing 28^th with a personal-best time of 23:55.4

3.     PYEATT’S PROWESS: Junior Jacob Pyeatt, who led A-State’s men’s team at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, garnered Sun Belt Conference Men’s Runner of the Week honors for his career-best performance.

NEXT UP

After the conference championships, A-State returns to action on Friday, Nov. 10, competing in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. The top two teams earn an automatic bid to the 31-team NCAA Cross Country Championships.

SOCIAL MEDIA

For the latest on the A-State track and field and cross country programs, follow @AStateTrack on Twitter and @Arkansas_State_Track on Instagram, while also liking the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField.