SAN ANTONIO ? Sophomore Dana Mecke will represent the UTSA women’s cross country team at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships held this Saturday, Nov. 10, on the Razorback Cross Country Course in Fayetteville, Ark.
Mecke will compete as an individual in the women’s 6,000-meter race set to begin at 11:15 a.m. The two-sport athlete has split time this fall between cross country and volleyball and has been successful at both. Mecke was the top UTSA finisher in five meets this season, posting five top-six finishes in the process. She has competed in volleyball matches and cross country meets on the same weekend five times during the year.
Mecke opened the season with a sixth-place effort at the Texas State Invitational on Sept. 8, before winning her first-ever collegiate race at the Ricardo Romo/Six Flags Fiesta Texas Classic on Sept. 21. She earned her first Southland Conference Athlete of the Week honor after a fourth-place performance at the Incarnate Word Invitational on Oct. 6, and was the runner-up one week later at the TLU Bulldog Invitational. In her last outing at the SLC Championships on Oct. 27 in Corpus Christi, Mecke covered 6k in 21:45 for sixth place to earn her first all-conference accolade.
Thirty-eight individuals, the first four athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team and two additional qualifiers, will advance to the NCAA Championships on Monday, Nov. 19, in Terre Haute, Ind. All individual qualifiers must finish in the top 25 in their region. The top two teams in each region plus an additional 13 at-large teams also will advance to nationals. For complete meet information and results, click here.
