XC Preview: Heart XC Championships
Kansas City, MO - For the first time in the program's history, Avila will be hosting the Heart of America Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, which are set for Saturday at Swope Park.
The race will take place in the open field across the street from Starlight Theatre and in front of the giant flag pole off of the corner of Meyer Blvd. and Mall Rd. It is the same location used for the Midwest XC Invitational hosted by Avila earlier this season in October. The women's race is set to begin at 11 a.m., with the men's race slated to begin at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday.
Course Map: Women's 5K Course - Men's 8K Course (Parking will be available for spectators along Mall Dr., which is the street located just South of the course. Fans are asked to park on the South side of the street (furthest from the course), while team buses/vans will park on the North side of the street)
The women's 5K race will loop around the course twice, while the men's 8K race will loop three times. The course has been adjusted from the first time Avila hosted earlier this fall, with the final straight aways being lengthened.
All 14 Heart schools will participate in the women's race, while 13 (Peru State does not have a men's cross country team) will run in the men's race. Benedictine is the defending champion on both the men's and women's sides, with the women looking for a three-peat entering Saturday's championships.
For the first time this season, Avila will be at full force on both the men's and women's teams. Injuries had kept multiple men's runners out of action for much of this season, but everyone should be back and ready to run on Saturday.
The women's team will be led by the freshmen duo of Penny Fenn and Karen Arellano, who have been as advertised for the Eagles this season. Fenn is the first freshman in program history to have three Top 5 finishes in a single season, while Arellano has finished in the Top 25 on multiple occasions.
The two teams with the lowest scores will earn automatic entry into the NAIA Women's Cross Country Championships, scheduled for Saturday, November 19 at the North Farm Cross Country Course in Elsah, Ill. The top six individual finishers who finish in the top 20 and are not on a qualifying team will also qualify for the national championship.
