Aug. 3, 2007

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Two trips to league newcomer Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a new venue for the NCAA Regional Championships highlight the 2007 Stephen F. Austin cross country schedule, announced Friday by head coach Lou Snelling.

SFA begins competition on Sept. 7 with the Lumberjack Opener, the team's annual season-opening home race. Three weeks later, the 'Jacks will get a preview of the Southland Conference Championship course, when they head to Corpus Christi, Texas, for the Islander Splash, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. SFA will have one last tune-up before beginning the championship portion of the campaign when the team travels to Memphis, Tenn., on Oct. 6 for the Memphis Twilight.

"The schedule is built around the championship section of the season," Snelling said, "the Southland Conference Championships, NCAA Regionals and the NCAA Championships. With that in mind, the month of September will largely be about gaining fitness with minimal interference from racing. Late in the month, we will preview the SLC Championship course at A&M-Corpus. That next weekend at Memphis will be a great opportunity to sharpen up on a flat, fast course. Then there will be three weeks to finish off our fitness before the conference championships."

The serious racing begins on Oct. 27, when SFA returns to Corpus Christi for the SLC Championships. Two weeks later, the 'Jacks will run at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. After being held in Waco for five seasons straight, the regional race will move out of Texas for the first time in several years (It was held in College Station and Denton before Baylor took on hosting duties in 2002). SFA hopes to wrap up the season by competing in the NCAA Championships, set for Nov. 19 in Terra Haute, Ind. SFA has sent at least one runner to the national race in three of the last four years.

"Our schedule for the fall reflects how young the team is," Snelling said. "A vast majority of the team are underclassmen."

Seventeen of the 24 athletes on the 2007 team rosters are entering their first or second years at SFA. The Lumberjacks are coming off a second-place finish at last year's SLC Championships and a fourth-place showing at regionals. The Ladyjacks took second at the conference meet.

-- SFA --