By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
NCAA South Regional Championships
Date: Friday, Nov. 10, 2023
Time: 7:30 a.m. CT (women – 6K) & 8:30 a.m. CT (men – 10K)
Location: Mark Bostick Golf Course | Gainesville, Fla.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech cross country teams will send a pair of representatives from each Golden Eagle squad to represent the purple and gold at the NCAA South Regional Championships at Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla. Friday morning.
The women's 6K will kick off the action at 7:30 a.m. CT with the men's 10K to follow at approximately 8:30 a.m.
Two members of both the Tech men's and women's teams will compete at this year's events, all four of which left it all out on the line at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships less than two weeks ago.
Representing the Golden Eagle women in their second straight 6K will be veteran Helen Pacurariu-Nagy and rookie Makaleigh Jessee. Behind a sixth-place showing at the OVC Championships, Pacuruariu-Nagy earned her second career All-OVC First Team honor with a time of 21:48.13.
She joined TTU Sports Hall of Famer Stephanie Place and former Golden Eagle great Purity Sanga as the only Tech women to earn First-Team recognition twice.
Delivering a spectacular result in her first career OVC Championships was Jessee. The freshman secured a spot on the All-OVC Second Team following a 13-place finish and 6K performance of 22:14.46.
Veteran Miceal McCaul and McNeese transfer James Hyland will compete for the purple and gold in the men's 10K, each of their first attempts at the longer race this season. At the OVC Championships, McCaul shattered his previous career-best mark in the 8K by nearly 40 seconds with a time of 23:54.05, the second-fastest mark in program history.
Placing fourth among 89 competitors, the junior earned All-OVC First Team accolades for the second straight year, joining TTU Sports Hall of Famer Lee Byrd and former Tech great Gilbert Boit as the only Golden Eagles to earn the honor twice. Additionally, McCaul became the first men's cross country runner in program history to earn All-OVC recognition three times in his career, earning a Second-Team nod in 2021 as a freshman.
Participating in his first OVC Championships, the junior Hyland contributed a 12th-place finish to the mix for the purple and gold, clocking in with a career-best chase of 24:20.80, the fifth-best 8K in school history. The junior picked up All-OVC Second Team honors for his efforts.
The Field
The field for the NCAA South Regional Championships will consist of Alabama, Alabama State, Alcorn, Auburn, Austin Peay, Belmont, Chattanooga, ETSU, FAU, FGCU, FIU, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, Miami (FL), Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, North Alabama, North Florida, Ole Miss, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Stetson, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Troy, UAB, UCF, USF, UT Martin, and Vanderbilt.
Photos by Brad Laux, Morehead State Athletics
