Live Results

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's and women's cross country teams will compete in their final meet of the regular season Friday morning when the Jaguars participate at the Crimson Classic hosted by the University of Alabama.

The meet will be held at the Harry Pritchett Running Park located adjacent to the UA Arboretum.  The men's 8k will begin at 9 a.m. (CT) with the women's 6k race scheduled to follow at 9:45 a.m.  Live results can be accessed at live.pttiming.com/xc-ptt.html?mid=102.

The site of this weekend's meet has been the venue for the SEC Cross Country Championships as well as the NCAA South Regional Championships and will do so again next month.

Scheduled to compete for the Jaguar men will be Nathan Reich, David Savic, Luke Fielding, Phillip Friedlander and Cameron Ellis.  Reich, a junior from Alpharetta, Ga., was USA's top finisher at the Greater Louisville Classic back on Oct. 1, finishing with a time of 26:03.50 on the 8k course.  

"I think we ran a lot better at the Louisville meet than we did at the home meet to begin the season," South Alabama cross country head coach David Barnett said.  "Everyone's been healthy and been making good progress in practice.  We just need to continue to progress and stay as close together as a group as possible.  I'm not looking for any one person to be an all-star, but rather have as close of a pack as possible.  Ideally our one through five won't have has much of a gap time wise."

The Jag women will have just two members of its squad competing in the meet this weekend – Laura Labuschaigne and Ashley Heitling.  Labuschaigne has finished in the top 30 in each of her two races this season, taking home top honors in the Azalea City Classic in the season opener and 30th two weeks ago at the Greater Louisville Classic.  Following her finish at the Cardinal meet, the sophomore was named the Sun Belt's Runner of the Week.  

"For our two racing on the women's side, I just want them to compete and set themselves up for a successful championship season, both in conference and at the regional.  They will see a lot of the same faces at those two meets."

Both Heitling and Labuschaigne did well at last season's Crimson Classic, helping USA women place sixth out of 26 teams and finish in front of seven regionally-ranked teams — including four from the South Region — as well as three others from the SBC.  Heitling ended the day in 37th with a time of 17:57.2, while Labuschaigne placed 50th crossing the line at 18:09.2.

The men's field will include 11 teams among the top 15 in the most recent United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (UTSFCCCA) South Region rankings — including seven in the top 10 along with No. 1 Mississippi who also ranks 10th nationally — while the women's competition will have just as talented of a field as 15 regionally-ranked schools are scheduled to participate, including 10 from the South Region.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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