Kansas to Host Cross Country, Track Regionals in 2015-16
HOST DATES
Nov. 13, 2015: NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional Championships (Rim Rock Farm)
May 26-28, 2016: NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary (Rock Chalk Park)
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Kansas’ state-of-the-art track facility at Rock Chalk Park has picked up its first major event as it will play host to the 2016 NCAA West Preliminary meet the NCAA announced Wednesday. Kansas is also slated to host the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Midwest Regional, which is to be held as the Jayhawks’ Rim Rock Farm Course.
“We’re very excited for the opportunity to be hosting these marquee events at our home facilities,” said head coach Stanley Redwine. “Rock Chalk Park is going to be an outstanding facility for this event and many more like it. Being able to bring a high-caliber meet like this to Lawrence and to our home fans is going to be special. Rim Rock Farm will also provide a great venue for the Midwest Regional. It’s one of the best cross country courses in the nation and it will be great to see so many great teams and athletes take to its trails.”
Rock Chalk Park, scheduled to open in April of 2014, will see Kansas host its first West Preliminary May 26-28, 2016. The regional meet is the considered the first rounds of the NCAA Championships and is one of two preliminary meets that will be held two weeks prior to the National Championships. The West Region includes every DI track & field program west of the Mississippi River and has produced eight of the last 10 men’s and women’s national team champions.
At the West Preliminary, the top-48 athletes in each event compete in a bracket-style qualifying format and look to advance through each round. The top-24 athletes in each event and the top-16 relay teams advance to the National Championship meet, which will be held in Eugene, Ore., in 2016.
Earlier in that academic year, Kansas will also host its first NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional at its 39-year-home, Rim Rock Farm. The meet, which is scheduled to be held on Nov. 13, 2015, will feature 30 men’s and women’s cross country teams from across the Midwest vying for spots at the NCAA Championships. The top-two finishing teams as well as two top individual finishers will qualify for the national meet to be hosted in Terre Haute, Ind.
Rim Rock Farm hosted the NCAA DI and DII Championships in 1998 as well as the Big 12 Championships in 2004. The Jayhawks’ home course is also slated to host the Big 12 Championships during the 2014 season.
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