2021 NEW ORLEANS MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE
NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans men's and women's cross country program released its 2021 schedule on Thursday, a slate that features four regular-season meets which includes the season-opening UNO XC Opener on Friday, Sept. 3 at Lake Oaks Park.
Both New Orleans cross country teams are looking to set program records for best team finish and lowest point total at a conference championship meet since joining the Southland for the third consecutive season after another standout 2020.
"After an exciting Spring track season and productive summer of training, we are pumped to get the team back together and get to work for this upcoming cross country season," distance coach Brock Moreaux said. "This schedule will provide us with the opportunities to showcase our talent right here in the city we love with the UNO XC Opener and the LSU Invitational. Then we will get the chance to compete against some of the best in the country at the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational and Blazer Invitational."
"There was only a select amount of teams in the country who were picked to attend the Notre Dame Invite, so I am really thankful for Coach Carlson and his staff at Notre Dame for providing us with this opportunity," Moreaux added about the exciting schedule. "With these experiences, I am confident we will be ready to prosper as a team during the championship season."
The Privateers get the year underway by hosting the UNO XC Opener on Friday, Sept. 3 at Lake Oaks Park. The group will then round out the month with a quick trip over to Baton Rouge for the LSU Invite on Friday, Sept. 17.
October turns into an exciting month for New Orleans as the Privateers will compete in three meets, including a chance at the conference crown. First up is the prestigious Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite on Friday, Oct. 1 that will face the Privateers against some of the best teams in the nation. UNO will then head to Birmingham for UAB's Blazer Invite on Saturday, October 16. The month concludes with the Southland Conference Championships as New Orleans will make the short drive to Thibodaux for a shot at the title on Friday, October 29.
Concluding the conference championships, qualifying student-athletes will head to the South Central Regional Championships in Waco, Texas on Friday, Nov. 12 and the NCAA DI National Championships in Tallahassee, Fla. on Saturday, Nov. 20.
Standout senior Arina Kleshchukova is looking to end her cross country career as the only UNO student-athlete to advance to two NCAA DI National Championship meets. She made the national race in 2019, and has a Southland Conference Championship and two conference runner-up finishes over her first three years on the Lakefront.
The men finished fourth at the 2020 Southland Championships with 113 points, a six-spot and 93-point improvement from its previous program mark. The women also came in fourth with 112 points to beat out its old Southland school record by seven spots and 162 points.
It was the best championship meet finish for the men's group since the Privateers placed fourth at the 2005 Sun Belt Championships and the best for the women's side since a fourth-place finish at the 2002 Sun Belt Championships.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Keep up to date with everything New Orleans Cross Country and Track & Field. Follow @PrivateersTFXC on Twitter, @PrivateersTFXC on Instagram, like /PrivateersTFXC on Facebook and subscribe to the PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
