Mississippi Christian cross country set for Southern Showcase in Huntsville
Mississippi Christian cross country will return to competition Friday at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama, a meet hosted by Jacksonville State at John Hunt Park. The Choctaws will compete against the team's strongest field of the season, including NCAA Division I programs Alabama, Auburn, Clemson and Georgia Tech.
The men's invitational race is scheduled for 7:30 a.m., followed by the women's 5K at 8:10 a.m. The meet will be the first 8K of the season for the Mississippi Christian men, who opened the year with a 5K at Choctaw Trails.
Both Mississippi Christian teams enter the meet in the USTFCCCA South Region rankings. The Lady Choctaws are ranked No. 3, while the men's team is ranked No. 5.
The Mississippi Christian men opened the season with Baxter Friedman, Matthew Singletary and Whitt Kilgore among the leaders at The Opener. Friedman finished fourth overall in 15:30.5 and earned Gulf South Conference Runner of the Week honors. Singletary finished close behind in 15:31.5, while Kilgore recorded 15:42.3 in his collegiate debut and earned GSC Freshman of the Week honors.
Kinley Harris, Audrey Mayatte and Catherine Wallace led the women's opening performance at Choctaw Trails and will compete against the deeper field in Huntsville.
Both Mississippi Christian squads finished as the second-highest NCAA Division II teams at last year's Southern Showcase. John Hunt Park will also host this year's South Regional meet, where the top three teams qualify for the NCAA Championships in Rim Rock, Kansas.
Source: Mississippi College Athletics.
