THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University cross country program is set to take part in the 2021 Southland Conference Cross Country Championships on Friday. The event is being hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Islander Cross Country Course.
 
The women's 6k event is slated for at 9 a.m., followed by the men's 8k race at 10. 
 
For the women, Nicholls is the region's No. 15 women's team heading to the Southland Championship. Junior Elsa Rijpstra leads the squad after securing Cross-Country Athlete of the Week after her second-place finish at the Mook 4 Invitational (Sept. 18). The Colonels are joined on the course by three other ranked programs – No. 8 New Orleans, No. 9 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and No. 13 UIW. 
 
"I was extremely pleased with how we performed in the Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational two weeks ago and we have looked great in practice over our last quality sessions heading into the championship," said Nicholls head coach Stefanie Slekis. "Our women's team did a great job of matching up against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UIW for our first time racing them this season in a very large and competitive field. We are ready to be in a smaller field and be able to individually spot the runners who we need to beat to move up into finishing as a top 3 Southland Conference team."
 
"I believe we have the best 1-2 combo in the conference with Ceren Yilmaz and Elsa working together and they are looking forward to the opportunity to improve on their races from Texas A&M and prove that at the championship. Elaina Hansen has run very consistently for our team all season and was less than 20 seconds away from UIW's 2, 3, and 4 so with her improvement we are looking to contend." 
 
The Colonels men captured a pair of top-five team finishes throughout the season and will look to claim their team title in program history. The men also feature a tough region as four teams in the Southland have regional rankings – No. 7 New Orleans, No. 8 McNeese, No. 11 UIW, and No. 12 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
"Our men's team is looking to improve on its 8000-meter personal bests after several of them matched or lowered them at Texas A&M, "Slekis said. "We have battled Northwestern State this season at two meets and have each beaten each other one time, so our men are ready to compete well against them again over the longer distance, in addition to seeing how we have improved the past month since we saw Southeastern at our home meet."
 
For athletes who qualify, the 2021 NCAA South Central Regional qualifying race will take place at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course on Friday, Nov. 12 in Waco, Texas, hosted by Baylor. The 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships will take place at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., on Nov. 20.
 
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