Men's Cross Country | 11/8/2017 4:46:00 PM

Live Results | Meet Central

FAIRFAX, Va. – Less than two weeks after hosting a conference championship, the George Mason men's and women's cross country teams look to bounce back at one of the biggest meets of the year.

The Patriots compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships hosted by Virginia on Friday morning at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. The women open the meet at 10:30 a.m. on a 6K course. The men follow at 11:30 a.m. on 10K course.  

Mason is coming off hosting the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships on Oct. 28 at Oatlands Plantation. The men finished eighth after being picked before the season to place third. The women placed ninth, up two spots from last year.

"Have we rebounded mentally from a less than exciting performance at conference? That will be a test," Mason head coach Andrew Gerard said. "If we can get out and do what we are prepared to do physically we will be in a good spot. We'll be able to certainly able to make some progress from what we showed at conference for sure – really on both sides. Our goal on both sides would be to showcase the physical progress we've made this year and demonstrate where we're at."

Forty-one women's teams and 39 men's teams are entered, with more than 300 runners on each side.

The top two teams at each regional championship automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18 in Louisville, Ky. The first four student-athletes not on a qualifying team at each regional will also be automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA Division I Cross Country Subcommittee will also choose 13 at-large teams and two at-large individuals.

The Southeast Region features some of the top teams in the country on both sides. In the men's field, the top three teams in the region are all nationally ranked in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) – No. 7 Furman, No. 9 Virginia Tech and No. 23 North Carolina State. The women's field includes No. 5 North Carolina State and No. 12 Furman.

The Mason men's team spent most of the season in the Southeast Regional rankings until dropping out a couple weeks ago. The Patriots were ranked 11th in the preseason poll for their highest preseason ranking in four years. At last year's Southeast Regional, they finished 13th and are looking to propel into the top 15 for the eighth straight year.

"We're not in any different position physically than we were a couple weeks ago (at the conference championship)," Gerard said. "So it really depends on what goes on between your ears and we all know that it is a really powerful thing. It is going to come down to the guys – and ladies – making a decision to get out. It was one step forward, two steps back instead of making a couple steps forward at the conference meet. But we're certainly capable of making a couple steps forward. It is hard to go three or four steps forward in one leap but that is what goal still remains to be."

The women finished 25th for the second straight season last year. The Patriots are eying to finish among the top 20 teams.

"For the ladies, I think (the goal is) establishing ourselves in that type of company," Gerard said. "I don't see any reason why the ladies couldn't be certainly solidly in that top 20, into the low teens range with a three-steps forward race. We took one step forward at the conference meet when I think we were prepared for several steps forward. So I think we're in that same boat where we are trying to roll a couple of improvements into one race."