Cross Country Reveals Schedule For 2021 Campaign
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) cross country team and third-year head coach Andrew Fink have officially announced the schedule for the upcoming 2021 season. Highlighting the Blue Jays' seven-meet slate this year is the annual Blue Jay Invitational which will be hosted on the campus of USJ on Friday, September 17.
The cross country team kicks off the 2021 docket tomorrow, Saturday, September 11 down the road in Manchester, Conn. at the Trinity Invitational. The meet takes place at Wickham Park and will feature host institution Trinity College, Tufts, Wesleyan, Westfield State, and New Haven in addition to the Blue Jays. The women are set to start at 10:30 a.m. while the men's shotgun start goes off at 11:10 a.m.
That sets up USJ's feature event, the Blue Jay Invitational, in week two of the cross country schedule. USJ will welcome Mitchell College as well as Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) school's Dean, Lasell, and Rivier to campus on Friday, September 17. The 5K meet is scheduled to start with both the men's and women's races going off at the same time at 4:00 p.m.
The Blue Jays then wrap up the opening month of competition at the Blazer Classic Invitational hosted by Elms College at Chicopee Memorial State Park on Saturday, September 25 where the USJ men finished runner-up and the women placed fourth out of eight teams in 2019.
Kicking off the action in October, the Blue Jays make the trip over to Westfield, Mass. for the James Earley Invitational hosted by Westfield State on Saturday, October 9. USJ will then get a sneak peak of the course they will run for the 2021 GNAC Championships on Saturday, October 16 when they travel to Boston, Mass. and run in the Suffolk Invitational held Franklin Park.
Following an off week to prepare is the 2021 GNAC Championships on Saturday, October 30. Emmanuel is the host institution this year and the marquee event is being held at Franklin Park. The women's race is schedule to start at 2:30 p.m. and the men's race is set for a 3:15 p.m. start. As a freshman, David Kavanaugh (West Hartford, Conn.) paced the men in 2019 with a 15th place individual finish, and classmate Morgan Hall (Norfolk, Conn.) posted a 60th place result to lead the way for the women's team.
Rounding out the 2021 docket is the NCAA DIII Mideast Regionals, where select Blue Jays will compete against regional opponents at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, Conn. with a chance to qualify and advance to the NCAA Championships.
At this time USJ intends to allow spectators for home meets and will follow all campus, town, and state guidelines regarding COVID-19.
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