D1 Southeast Region Preview

The 2015 Southeast Region Championships will be held Friday at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Virginia. The women’s 6K race is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, with the men’s 10K slated to start an hour later.

You can follow the race on the National Results Wall, and via live results.

Men’s Race

Team Breakdown

This race last year was an instant classic.

Four points separated the winner (Virginia) and runner-up (Furman), while only 12 points were the difference between first and third (North Carolina).

With five ranked teams in the field – No. 10 NC State, No. 12 Virginia, No. 13 Furman, No. 18 Virginia Tech and No. 26 Eastern Kentucky – and a dark horse lurking in the shadows – Louisville – this has all the makings of another epic battle.

The Wolfpack are justifiably the top team in the region based off their resume. NC State recently took second at the ACC Championships and its season also included a runner-up finish at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. In mid-October, the Wolfpack were seventh at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational.

Like NC State, the Cavaliers fared well at both the ACC Championships (third) and in Madison, Wisconsin (fourth). History is on Virginia’s side as the team has won two of the past three region titles.

The Paladins enter Friday’s meet fresh off yet another championship in the Southern Conference. Furman also raced in Madison, Wisconsin, where it finished sixth and took part in the Panorama Farms Invitational earlier this season and got a feel for the course.

The Hokies have trended upward at the right time. Virginia Tech finished fourth at the ACC Championships and was sixth at the Pre-National Invitational in October.

The Colonels, who won the 2013 Southeast Region title, romped to another crown at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships (21 points). EKU split its squad a lot this year, so this might be the first true look anybody gets at the team from Richmond, Kentucky.

While they’re not ranked, the Cardinals shouldn’t be overlooked. Louisville has the horses to contend for an NCAA berth and was 11th at Pre-Nationals.

Individual Breakdown

Based on the cutthroat nature of the region, all of these teams might not have runners going for the win – but positioning themselves for low-point finishes to help their teams advance to NCAAs.

Here’s a laundry list of athletes from those teams to look out for at the front of the pack: NC State’s Meron Simon and George Parsons, Virginia’s Henry Wynne, Furman’s Tanner Hinkle, Virginia Tech’s Thomas Curtin, EKU’s Amos Kosgey and Erick Rotich, Louisville’s Edwin Kibichiy, Ernest Kibet and Japhet Kipkoech.

While their teams appear to be on the outside looking in, Campbell’s Lawrence Kipkoech and Amon Terer, Duke’s Shaun Thompson and Kentucky’s Jacob Thomson will try to qualify as individuals.

Women’s Race

Team Breakdown

Last year the region rankings entering the meet were as such – North Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina State and William and Mary.

Here’s how the race shook out – William and Mary (74), Virginia (82), North Carolina (94), Virginia Tech (97) and NC State (106).

This year No. 6 Virginia is the region’s top team, followed by No. 8 NC State, No. 22 William and Mary and then No. 28 North Carolina.

So just throw all of those teams into a hat, shake them up and see where they fall out, right? Not so fast. Let’s go ahead and take out the Cavaliers and Wolfpack.

Virginia and NC State are the class of the region. The Cavaliers and Wolfpack put on a duel for the ages two weeks ago at the ACC Championships with Virginia earned a four-point win and its first conference crown since 1982. That was the second time this year where the Cavaliers and NC State finished neck and neck in team standings. Virginia edged the Wolfpack at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational in mid-October.

The Tribe – who recently won another CAA title – and the Tar Heels – who were fourth at ACCs – have struggled on the national level. William and Mary and North Carolina also ran in Madison, Wisconsin and finished 16th and 19th, respectively.

Individual Breakdown

Just like the men’s race, expect the women to pack up with teammates in an attempt to propel their teams to an NCAA berth.

The lead pack will likely consist of these runners: Virginia’s Cleo Boyd and Iona Lake, NC State’s Ryen Frazier and Samantha George, William and Mary’s Regan Rome and Emily Stites as well as North Carolina’s Caroline Alcorta.

Individuals hoping to find their way to Louisville, Kentucky include Coastal Carolina’s Letitia Saayman and Kyla Van Graan, Wake Forest’s Samantha Jones and Furman’s Allie Buchalski.