Kansas to host NCAA track, cross country regionals in 2020
HOST DATES
May 28-30, 2020: NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary (Rock Chalk Park)
Nov. 13, 2020: NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional Championships (Rim Rock Farm)
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Kansas’ state-of-the-art track facility at Rock Chalk Park has once again picked up a major event as it will play host to the 2020 NCAA West Preliminary meet the NCAA announced Tuesday. Kansas is also slated to host the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Midwest Regional, which is to be held at the Jayhawks’ Rim Rock Farm Course.
“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to host these marquee events at our home facilities,” said head coach Stanley Redwine. “As we saw last year, Rock Chalk Park is 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 always 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, which opened in April of 2014, will see Kansas host its second West Preliminary May 28-30, 2020. The regional meet is the considered the first round 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 13 of the last 16 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, Oregon, in 2020.
Later that year, Kansas will also host its second NCAA Midwest Cross Country Regional at its 42-year-home, Rim Rock Farm. The meet, which is scheduled to be held on Nov. 13, 2020, 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 Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Rim Rock Farm hosted the Midwest Regional in 2015, the NCAA DI and DII Championships in 1998 as well as the Big 12 Championships in 2004 and 2014.
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