VILLANOVA, Pa.—A chance to earn a berth to the NCAA Championships will be on the line when the women's cross country team competes in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday afternoon. This year's regional meet is being hosted by Lehigh on the Goodman Campus Course where the women's 6,000 race will get underway at 12 p.m. The race will be followed by the men's 10,000 meter race at 1 p.m. and an awards ceremony to recognize the top teams and individual performers will take place inside Goodman Stadium immediately following the conclusion of the men's race.
Friday's NCAA regional is open to the public and fans can purchase tickets on site when arriving to the Lehigh campus. Admission is $8.00 for adults and $4.00 for children and students. There is also a spectator parking fee of $5.00. All fees will be collected at the parking booths. Cash and credit cards are accepted. There are no advance sales for the meet. Fans who are unable to attend the meet can follow along with live results via the link in this release and can also stay up to date on where Villanova stands by following the Wildcats on Twitter (@NovaTrackXC). Please be aware that live tweets may be delayed depending on weather conditions at the meet.
Villanova is coming off a fourth place finish at the BIG EAST Championships where three Wildcats finished in the top 20 and earned all-conference honors. Senior
Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) paced Villanova with a runner-up finish and garnered first team All-BIG EAST honors for the fourth straight season. Freshman
Sadie Sigfstead (Edmonton, Alta.) was also a first team All-BIG EAST honoree after a fifth place finish in her BIG EAST debut. Junior
Maggie Smith (Halifax, N.S.) came in 14
th to earn second team All-BIG EAST accolades.
Villanova enters the regional meet ranked third behind West Virginia and Georgetown in the most recent Mid-Atlantic poll released by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The top two teams at each of nine regionals around the country earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships on November 20 in Tallahassee, Fla., while 13 other teams will be chosen for at-large berths based on their overall competition throughout the 2021 season. The top 25 individual finishers from the regional meets will earn All-Region accolades from the USTFCCCA.
During the last full cross country season in 2019 a young Wildcats team came in second at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships for the fifth straight year. Villanova has won five regional titles since 2000 when the current system of regional competition was put into place. Prior to that the Wildcats were the team champion at the NCAA District II Championships a total of 10 times between 1986 and 1998. Villanova has earned a total of 81 Mid-Atlantic All-Region honors under the current format.
The field of teams and individuals for the NCAA Championships will be announced via a live selection show that airs Saturday, November 13 at 5 p.m. Eastern time on NCAA.com. A link to the show will be on the front page of NCAA.com on Saturday afternoon. The NCAA Championships are hosted by Florida State and will take place at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla. on Saturday, November 20.
