CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina head cross country coach Jesse Norman today announced the Catamounts' 2021 schedule. WCU is slated to run in three regular-season meets in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia before competing in the Southern Conference Championship on post at VMI in Lexington, Va.

"I'm very excited about this upcoming schedule," said Norman. "It allows us to get our feet wet in early September and then have a good month of solid training that will be especially beneficial to our incoming freshman as they make the jump into collegiate athletics and had an abbreviated summer training block due to the length of their high school seasons. This schedule also gives us an opportunity to check our progress against other SoCon schools as we'll see them scattered throughout our season."

For the second time in the past three seasons, the Catamounts open the year at the Covered Bridge Open hosted by Appalachian State on Sept. 3. In 2019, WCU finished fifth in the women's team standings and eighth in the men's overall.

After nearly a month-long break, the Catamounts head to the Alexander/Asics Invitational in Fairburn, Ga., on Oct. 2. This will be the first collegiate edition of the meet held at Chattahoochee Hills Eventing at Bouckaert Farm.

The final pre-conference tune-up is scheduled for Oct. 16 in the Upstate Invitational hosted by USC Upstate. The Catamounts last competed on the course at the Milliken Research Park in the 2018 season-opening Eye Opener Invitational and scored a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 2017 Upstate Invitational.

The 2021 Southern Conference Championship is scheduled for Oct. 30 in Lexington, Va. At the 2020 conference meet last fall, rising senior Kate Mattison earned second-team All-Conference honors with an eighth-place finish.

Western Carolina competes at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship in Lexington, Ky., on Nov. 12 with hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championship in Tallahassee, Fla. on Nov. 20.

Keep track of everything related to Catamount cross country and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports) and Twitter (@catamounts).
 
2021 Western Carolina Cross Country Schedule
Sept. 3: Covered Bridge Open, Boone N.C.
Oct. 2: Alexander/Asics Invitational, Fairburn, Ga.
Oct. 16: Upstate Invitational, Spartanburg, S.C.
Oct. 30: Southern Conference Championship, Lexington, Va.
Nov. 12: NCAA Southeast Regional Championship, Lexington, Ky.
Nov. 20: NCAA National Championship, Tallahassee, Fla.