Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina cross country teams head west this week for the Southern Showcase for their second meet of the 2026 season. The 32-team meet begins early on Sept. 18, with the men's 8K scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. start, followed by the women's 5K slated for 9:15 a.m.
Friday's Meet: The Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Ala.
Teams (32): Alabama, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Auburn Montgomery, Belmont, Baylor, Chattanooga, Christian Bros., Clemson, Coconino CC, College of Charleston, Cumberlands, Evansville, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville State, Lee, Mercer, Milligan, Mississippi College, Morehead State, North Alabama, Ozarks, Samford, South Alabama, Temple, Tennessee Tech, ULM, UT Southern, West Florida, West Georgia, Western Carolina
Men's 8K: 8:30 a.m.
Women's 5K: 9:15 a.m.
Live Results: https://live.xpresstiming.com/meets/77259/live
The Catamount men look to build on their performances from the season-opening Duel in the Valley, where Western Carolina faced UNC Asheville in Bryson City. Alex Ruge and
Matthias Peterson led the Catamounts in the men's 6K race, finishing first and fifth, respectively, in 19:12.12 and 19:22.9.
Also competing in the Southern Showcase for the men's team are
Eli Clonch,
Samuel Corso,
Noah Luke,
Kadin Nance,
Jaleb Saunders, and
Bradley White.
Friday's 8K will provide WCU with its first opportunity of the season to compete at the longer distance. Peterson enters the meet with experience in the event, having posted a personal best time of 25:17.5 at the Upstate Invitational last season.
On the women's side, the Catamounts likewise look to carry the momentum from the Duel in the Valley into their first 5K event of the season.
Katherine Hopkins led WCU in the season opener, finishing fifth in the women's 3K with a time of 10:56.0. She was followed by
Ashlyn Watkins in sixth place at 11:00.8.
Hopkins enters Friday's race as one of the team's top returners, having posted a time of 17:51.9 at the Southern Conference Cross Country Championships last season. Also competing on the women's side are
Madeline Hladik, Hannah Kilner,
Grace Lane,
Avery Mays,
Peyton Skoglund, and
Braelyn-Shea Wahy.
The Southern Showcase provides both Catamount squads an opportunity to measure themselves against a large field of regional competition as the season progresses, including four squads from the Southern Conference featuring Chattanooga, Mercer, Samford, and Tennessee Tech.
Up Next For The Catamounts:
The Catamounts are back at it next week at the Fall Collegiate Cross Country Invitational in Mill Spring, N.C. The squads compete Friday, Sept. 25, at the site of the conference championship meet. WCU then closes its regular season meets on October 17 in Spartanburg, S.C., for the Upstate Invitational.
