Lalang, Watson to Race at NCAA South Central Regional

LITTLE ROCK – The 2017 cross country season continues on Friday as Little Rock's Isaac Lalang and Shanieke Watson compete at the NCAA South Central Regional in College Station, Texas.
 
The women's 6K will begin at 9:15 a.m., and will include 231 runners from 29 teams. The men's 10K will begin at 10:15 a.m., and will include 215 runners from 29 teams. Both races will occur on Texas A&M's Watts Cross Country Course.
 
Lalang has plenty of experience at the NCAA South Central Regional as he has competed in it for the past two seasons. Last year, Lalang picked up NCAA South Central All-Regional honors following his 18th-place finish. In 2015, he placed ninth and earned the final individual qualification spot for the NCAA Championship with a time of 30:17.1. Friday's course will be the same as the one in 2015. Friday's race comes two weeks after Lalang posted a fourth-place finish at the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
 
For Watson, this will be her first NCAA Regional Meet after transferring to Little Rock during the offseason. Watson has made a name for herself already as the Jamaican finished sixth at the Sun Belt Conference Championship two weeks ago. Before that, Watson earned her first Division I win at the Little Rock Invitational. In September, Watson posted the sixth-fastest 5K in time in program history.
 
The top two teams and the first four finishers not associated with those two teams will advance to the NCAA Championships, held Nov. 18 in Louisville.