Thibodaux, La.- Early Wednesday afternoon, Nicholls State University head track & field/cross country coach Stefanie Slekis officially announced the schedule for the Colonel's men's and women's cross country teams. The season kicks off competition in early September at the UNO Opener, hosted by New Orleans, before wrapping up the year at the NCAA DI South Central Region Championships in mid-November.  

The Red & Gray will host two meets this season. First, they host the Nicholls XC Invitational on Sept. 17 and then the Southland Conference Championship on Oct. 28. Both competitions will take place at Nicholls Farm.

After hosting the Nicholls XC Invitational, the Colonels will travel to two meets hosted by SEC schools, first making the short trip to Baton Rouge for LSU Invitational (Sept. 23) and then heading to College Station, Texas for the Arturo Barrios Invitational at Texas A&M University (Oct. 15).

"We have a great schedule this fall with three local meets with strong competition to start us off in September," Slekis said. "Most notably we are excited to host our home meet on Saturday, September 17, where we will welcome Louisiana, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Loyola New Orleans, as well as SLC members UIW and Texas A&M-Commerce, who will make the trip to preview the course for the Southland Conference championship we'll host October 28." 

Slekis spoke about the importance of getting the new individuals prepared and creating familiarity.

"With a good number of newcomers on our team, especially for the men, we are looking forward to returning to the Arturo Barrios invitational where we will not only see most of the top south central region teams but also preview the course since Texas A&M will host the region meet this year," Slekis said.

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