KENNESAW, Ga.- Sending two runners to Regionals this season, Mackenzie Howe and Heather Morris will face the best the south has to offer in the NCAA South Region meet on Saturday Nov. 13. Seeing the course in Hoover, Ala. for the second time this season, Howe will look to capitalize on her 18th place finish from last season at Regionals in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Standing in their way will be teams from top region schools like Florida, Florida State, Georgia and even a few conference foes in Lipscomb, North Florida and Jacksonville. After Howe’s first place finish at the Atlantic Sun Conference championship, head cross country coach Stan Sims knows she is ready and this will be a good test for freshman Morris.

“We didn't change much in our preparation for region,” Sims said. “In the championship phase there's not much to be done to get faster but there's plenty you can do to get slower. Mackenzie is healthy and ready to run. The A-Sun was a boost and the region course will suit her well. It will take a top 10 finish to get to nationals. Heather Morris has been having a great season and is ready to finish the season with a strong run.”

Last season was the first time any of the runners from the cross country program were able to participate in any of the postseason races. Howe along with former Owls runner Britany Reilly represented the women’s team at Regionals. Howe along with her 18th place finish would all be named by the USTFCCCA a member of the South region All-Region team. The selection marked the first time a member of the Owls was given the distinct honor. Reilly would finish the race in 69th in a time of 22:19. Although neither of them would compete at the final level of Nationals, they paved the way for the Owls to gain recognition in the South.

Since Howe and Morris are the only two competing on Saturday, they would need to place in the top four among runners who didn’t qualify for the championship with their respective teams. Howe has found a lot of success this season which puts her in a place to capitalize on last year’s performance. Out of the six races she participated in she never was lower than 15th. Her lowest finish came at the Greater Louisville Classic amongst some of the elite teams from around the nation. She would see victories at the UTC PowerAde Invitational and most importantly a spectacular finish to her A-Sun career at the conference championship, finishing first and earning a fourth straight All-Conference award.

Earlier in the season, Howe and Morris were able to preview the course during the Samford Invitational where as a team they finished fourth. Howe ran the 5k in a time of 18:02 which earned her a second place finish. Morris ended up in 36th with a time of 22:39.  

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Quick Facts

Event Name: NCAA South Region Championship

Event Date: Saturday, November 13, 2010

Host: Samford University

Location: Veterans Park

Start Time: 9:45 a.m. (Central)

Distance: 6k

2009 Owl Finish, Score: N/A

2009 Owl Top Finishers: Howe-18^th, 20:58

Teams Competing (32): Alabama, Auburn, Austin Peay, Belmont, Bethune-Cookman, Central Florida, Chattanooga, Florida, Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Memphis, Mercer, Miami, Middle Tenn. State, Miss. State, Miss. Valley, North Florida, Ole Miss,  Samford, South Alabama, South Florida, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Troy, Vanderbilt