NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Nicholls State University cross country program looks to hit the ground running as the 2019 season gets underway on Friday, Aug. 30 at the UNO Opener, facing off against seven opposing squads across both the men's and women's fields at Lake Oaks Park in New Orleans, La.

WHAT: The UNO XC Opener
WHEN: Friday, Aug. 30 | 6 p.m. (W) | 6:45 p.m. (M)
WHERE: Lake Oaks Park | New Orleans, La.
MEDIA: Live Stats | Live Stream

UNO XC OPENER PARTICIPANTS
New Orleans (host)
Louisiana-Lafayette
Tulane
Nicholls
Dillard
Xavier
Loyola
Louisiana College

As head coach Stefanie Slekis enters her third year at the helm of the Colonels cross country program, she and her staff have worked to develop realistic expectations for both the men's and women's squads as the 2019 season kicks off in earnest. While the amount of collegiately-competitive talent continues to grow on the roster, experience remains a factor Slekis anticipates needing to focus on, especially for the particularly young men's team.

"In our sport, you develop your expectations over the course of the season," Slekis said. "On the women's side, we're learning as we go just how good everyone on this team can be. We just aim to be a better team than we were last year, especially since we have nine newcomers with eight of them set to race for us. As a coach, everyone's performance thus far has me very excited about what we can accomplish as a team. We want to work on that depth, which is something we haven't had for a long time here at Nicholls.

"For the men, we're even younger, so I think we just expect to train consistently throughout the year and build up that resistance to the longer distances," Slekis continued. "All of our guys did a really good job this summer getting the miles in on their own, and they're handling the training regimen we've put together thus far, so that gets me optimistic about their chances this season."

Notable returners for the women's squad include junior Joyce Kiplagat and Eleana Callejas along with sophomores Julia Garcia Verges, Faith Keter and Lara Reifers, but big-name freshmen such as Augusta Marie Grønberg Christensen, Skyler Goodman and Elsa Rijpstra are slotted to make an impact. For the men, incoming freshman Olari Livingston has already made waves in preseason training while veteran returners Cameron Carter, Tyler Granger and Dustin Worley aim to anchor the Red & Gray on the course.

"For the women, Augusta [Grønberg Christensen], Elsa [Rijpstra] & Skyler [Goodman] have really separated themselves as our top three," Slekis added. "You're going to see them leading our women's team, so the goal for those three is to stay healthy and get in consistent runs in our workouts. On the men's side, Olari [Livingston] has really stepped into a leading role, and we're excited to see what he can do. Preston [Whisenhunt] and Octavio [Vasquez-Tilley] are a little lower mileage guys out of the high school, but they've already developed really well and they're beginning to keep up with our more experienced runners."

COMPLETE PROGRAM BREAKDOWN
Schedule | Men's Roster | Women's Roster

UP NEXT
Following the official opener at New Orleans on Friday evening, the Colonels make ready for a quick turnaround as the team turns attention to the Southern Jaguars XC Invitational, set for Saturday, Sept. 7 in Baton Rouge, La.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonels Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_XCTF), Instagram (@geauxcolonels) and like their Facebook page (Nicholls Athletics).