N.C. A&T's cross country teams open the season on Aug. 31.

GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- The men’s and women’s cross country team has released their 2018 schedule that mimics last year’s schedule with five meets leading up to the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships.

“I’m excited about our cross country teams this year,” said Duane Ross, director of track and field programs. “This is a competitive schedule that will prepare us for conference and the regional championships.”

The women’s team is coming off their best finish in eight years with a fourth-place finish at the MEAC championships behind Florida A&M, Hampton, and Norfolk State. The men finished fifth with returning senior Hakeem Mustafaa and junior Marquise McGee earning all-conference accolades.

Both teams open the season at the 6thAnnual Elon Opener on Aug. 31. It will mark a decade that the Aggies have raced at Elon University. An Aggie, Darren White, won the event two years ago. After competing at Elon, the Aggies will run at the Adidas Cross Country Classic hosted by North Carolina State at the Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary on Sept. 14. Last season the men finished ninth and the women placed 11th.

After another two-week break, the Aggies will get a chance to run in Greensboro as the two teams compete in the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational at Hagan Stone Park on Sept. 29. This marks the second straight year the Aggies will compete in the event. They were triumphant in their return last season with both teams taking first place after a five-year absence from running at Hagan Stone Park.

A week later the Aggies will return to Wake Med Soccer Park for the Robert Shumake HBCU Challenge. The Aggie men are the four-time defending champions. N.C. A&T’s final regular-season meet is as High Point University’s VertCross Invitational on Oct. 12.

“The race to win a combined six conference championships in cross country and track and field begins this August with cross country, and I believe our athletes are up to the challenge,” said Ross. The MEAC championships are on Oct. 27 at the Delaware State University Outreach and Research Center in Smyrna, Del. The women will have a tough task in trying to dethrone six-time reigning champion Florida A&M, while the men will be trying to take down reigning champion Norfolk State.

The Aggies men's track and field programs have won the last two indoor and outdoor championships in the MEAC. The women's track and field programs have won two straight indoor titles. The Aggies are trying to add cross country titles to the resume of the track and field programs.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION