RICHARDSON, TX (10.28.15) - The American Southwest Conference will host its first conference championship of the season this weekend and the UT Dallas men's and women's cross country teams are up for the task. The ASC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships wll be hosted by Texas-Tyler Saturday morning.

OFFICIAL ASC RELEASE
MEET CENTRAL
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
MEN'S COURSE ROUTE
WOMEN'S COURSE ROUTE

The men's 8k will take place at 8:15 a.m. Saturday with the women's 6k to follow at approximately 9 a.m. The men's and women's awards presentation will take place at 10:15 a.m. Twelve of the ASC's 14 member institutions field men's and women's cross country teams. The men's and women's championship field is comprised of 12 ASC institutions – Concordia Texas, East Texas Baptist, Hardin-Simmons, LeTourneau, Louisiana College, McMurry, Ozarks, Sul Ross State, Texas Dallas and Texas-Tyler. Belhaven and McMurry will run as non-scoring teams.

The UTD women ran four regular-season meets, including a first-place finish at the University of Dallas Invitational on Oct. 17. Sophomore Lindsey Rayborn was the Comets' top finisher in the first three meets of the year, placing second at the Texas Division III Intercollegiate on Oct. 3. Sophomore Samantha Tschirhart was UTD's top finisher at UD and was second behind Rayborn in the first three contests. Rayborn finished second at the 2014 ASC Championships while Tschirhart placed 11th, both earning first team All-ASC honors. The Comets also return a 2014 second team All-ASC performer in junior Sam Hartke. Hartke placed 15th at last year's meet. UTD recorded its best-ever finish at the ASC Championships last season, placing second.

For the Comet men, freshman Alireza Nourani was UTD's top finisher in the first three meets of the year while sophomore Keishi Mii topped the Comets in the fourth and final regular season meet. The Comets placed fourth at last year's ASC Championships with Mii earned second team All-ASC honors after a 16th-place finish.