CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas men's and women's cross country teams start their 2019 campaigns as they host the 2019 UCA XC Challenge at Beaverfork Lake Park on Saturday. The women are on the course first as they are slated for a 8:45 a.m. start.
 
The Bears will host both the men and women from Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas-Monticello, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Hendrix, John Brown, LeMoyne-Owen, Lyon, Mississippi Valley, Oral Roberts, and Southern Arkansas, with the Ouachita Baptist women joining the field.
 
At last year's UCA XC Challenge, the men took four of the top five positions on their way to a dominating win. Thomas Cain, Brock Collins, Hunter Henderson, and Jared Hamilton finished first, second, fourth, and fifth, respectively. The men return all but three members of last year's Southland Conference Championship team. Alex Hanson earned second-team All-SLC honors last season with his 10th-place finish and looks to pace the Bears. UCA finished with five runners inside the top 15 at the conference meet.
 
The women posted four top-10 finishes at last season's meet. Gracie Hyde placed seventh and Erin Woodward finished in eighth as the two lead the way for the returning runners. Hyde was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and earned second-team all-conference honors for her seventh-place finish at the SLC Championships. This year's squad boasts one of the best rosters the team has seen in awhile and looks to improve on last season's sixth-place finish.
 
"It's an incredible roster on the women's side. Probably the best team we've had since the 2013 team, which were Southland Conference runners-up," said Head Coach Beau Theriot. "On the guys side, we return everybody but three of our top guys and should be in the running for the championship."
 
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