Cross Country Releases 2018 Schedule

ATHENS, Ga. --- Eight months after the Georgia women's cross country team posted its best finish in 11 years at the NCAA Championships, the Bulldog program has announced its 2018 fall schedule.

Last November, the Lady Bulldogs made their eighth trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in history and finished 17^th, which was a 13-spot improvement from their last trip to Nationals in 2012 and the squad's top finish since taking 15^thin 2006.  Samantha and Jessica Drop, twin sisters who are rising juniors, became the first Georgia cross country runners in history to earn All-America honors at the same NCAA Championships.

The Georgia women will begin their pursuit for a second consecutive invitation to the NCAA Championships and the Bulldog men will be searching for their first trip to Nationals since advancing to three straight from 2011-13 on Aug. 31.  UGA opens in Concord, N.C., at the Charlotte Opener.

Georgia hosted the Southeastern Conference Championships at the UGA Golf Course last year as well as a preview of the league meet during the regular season.  This fall, the Bulldogs will welcome teams to Athens for the Bulldog Invitational on Sept. 8. The home meet will be the second of five scheduled regular season meets before SECs arrive in Auburn, Ala., on Oct. 26.

"We are excited to release this schedule because it is just one more sign that cross country is right around the corner," said Bulldog distance coach Patrick Cunniff.  "This schedule gives us a great balance between returning to meets we are familiar with, such as our home meet and the Paul Short meet, and some new challenges, especially returning to Wisconsin for Pre-Nationals and hopefully for NCAAs.  First and foremost, it is a schedule geared towards helping us qualify for the NCAA Championships and making sure we are prepared for the intensity of the championship part of our season, which includes the SEC, Regional and National meets.

"We will face incredible competition and unique courses and it will be fun to see how this team responds to those challenges.  Secondly, we know this schedule will allow our younger runners a variety of opportunities to race, to prove themselves and to move forward with their development.  We are also excited about hosting the 2018 Bulldog Invitational at the UGA Golf Course on September 8.  It is always awesome to run in front of friends, family and alumni and do our best to defend home turf. I t should be a great meet with top-flight competition."

Following a three-week recovery then training period after the Bulldog Invitational, Georgia will travel a crew to Bethlehem, Pa., for its third Paul Short Run meet in a row.  The Bulldogs will then return to action at the Zimmer Course in Madison, Wis., which is site of the 2018 NCAA Championships, for the annual NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 13. Also that weekend, another group of Georgia runners will stay closer to home in Rome for the Berry Invitational.

The conference meet two weeks later will initiate the postseason for the Bulldogs after the women were second and the men were sixth at the meet last year.  Jessica and Samantha Drop highlighted the postseason opener by going fourth and fifth, respectively, on the UGA Golf Course.

The Lady Bulldogs followed up their performance at the 2017 SEC meet with yet another runner-up finish at the NCAA South Regional, which punched their ticket to Nationals.  This season, Georgia will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to compete at the first South Regional on the Seminoles' course for the first time since 2016.

A week later, the Bulldogs will hopefully return to Wisconsin's home course for the NCAA Championships as the UGA program drives to have both squads at Nationals in the same season for the first time since 2012.  That year, the men were 19^thwhile the women took 30^th.

Georgia is riding a wave of momentum from its recent track and field seasons.  With Jessica Drop scoring at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the 5000 meters, the Lady Bulldogs captured their first NCAA team title indoors in 2018 and were second at the NCAA Outdoor Championships by a single point.  The Georgia men transformed their third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships into their first national team championship outdoors.

Results and recaps from all Bulldog meets can be found at georgiadogs.com.  News and updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams are always located on Twitter/Instagram at@UGATrack.

University of Georgia Athletics

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