SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA cross country teams will travel to Birmingham, Ala., to race in the Conference USA Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Veterans Park.
The women's 6,000 meters is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. followed by the men's 8k at 10 a.m.
The UTSA men will be represented by Omar Bekdache, JD Corona, Matthew David, Luke Lawhorn, Idol Ramon, Jake Smith and Harrison Wade.
The Roadrunners are coming off a third-place finish at the Naimadu Classic on Oct. 17 in Abilene, Texas. Smith, a junior from Yuma, Ariz., paced UTSA with a fourth-place time of 25:42.77 on the 8k course. He was joined in the top 10 by Lawhorn, who crossed 10th in 27:19.05.
Wade led the men to an eighth-place showing at last year's C-USA Championship. The Australian earned third-team all-conference accolades by placing 15th with a time of 24:43.6.
UTSA has captured eight conference championships in its history, while six Roadrunners have claimed individual league crowns, including current cross country coach David Hartman, who won the 1996 Southland Conference race while guiding the Roadrunners to the team title.
Abby Balli, Amber Boyd, Briana Gonzalez, Brooke Lomax, Marissa Martinez, Joy Ojeda and Zoie Reyna will line up for the UTSA women on Saturday.
The women also placed third at the Naimadu Classic two weeks ago. Balli, a junior from Pasadena, Texas, led the way by finishing fifth with a 22:42.49 clocking in the 6k race, while Boyd was eighth in 23:52.79.
The Roadrunners placed 10th at the 2019 C-USA Championship behind a 47th-place finish from Boyd, who covered the 6k course in 18:55.0.
UTSA has won six league titles on the women's side, including the 2013 C-USA Championship in its first year in the conference. Four Roadrunners have captured individual crowns, the last by Dana Mecke at the 2008 Southland meet.
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