CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina women's cross country team along with three of the men's runners will be competing in the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional on Friday afternoon. University of Virginia will host the meet at the Panorama Farms course in Earlysville, Va.

The women's 6K will begin at 12:00 p.m. and the men's 10K will follow at 1:00 p.m.

Both teams will be competing against a handful of nationally ranked teams, including host University of Virginia whose both men's (#2 regionally; #12 nationally) and women's (#1 regionally; #6 nationally) teams.

Women's Preview

The Coastal Carolina women's team will have eight runners competing in the NCAA Regionals on Friday with a shot at a top 10 finish for the team. A top 10 finish would be the highest since 2006 when the team placed 10th. Last year the team placed 16th overall with two runners finishing in the top 25.

The Chanticleers have raced on this course earlier this season when Virginia hosted the Panorama Farms Invitational in September. Overall, the women's team placed seventh out of 15 teams against a handful of nationally ranked teams. Following the race, the women moved up to number seven in the southeast region polls which is the highest the women have ever been ranked regionally.

Standout senior Letitia Saayman, is projected to finish in the top 25 again this year. Last year Saayman placed 12th overall earning her All-Region honors and qualified for NCAA Nationals. This course should be familiar to Saayman who placed third in running a 5k in the Panorama Farms Invitational earlier this season.

Kyla van Graan, who has trailed close behind Saayman all season long, is also seeking a top 25 finish for a second year. Kyla finished 10th overall in NCAA Regionals last year also earning her All-Regions and qualified for NCAA Nationals.

Following Kyla, is teammate and sister Aynslee van Graan who has been a top three runner for the Chants all season. Rachel Byrd, Alesia Muklebust, Kayla Tracy, Regina Peattie and Erin O'Hagan have all made significant progresses throughout the season and will be looking for personal bests during regionals.

The reigning women's regional champion is William & Mary, who currently sits at the number three spot in the region and 22nd in the national polls.

Men's Preview

The Coastal Carolina men's team will have three runners competing in the NCAA Regionals on Friday. This will be the first time for two of these runners competing in the NCAA regionals meet, while senior Zach Hensel will be back for a second time.

The three Chants will also be familiar with the course from competing in the Panorama Farms Invitational in September. Overall, the men did not place at the Invitational due to an infraction but are back looking for a strong race.

Senior Zach Hensel, a Carolina Forrest HS grad, will be running in his final meet for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Hensel has competed in the NCAA regionals during the 2013 season finishing with a time of 33:23. The senior will be looking to best his time in his final competition.

Also competing is Josh Small and Elijah Shaw, two significant impacts for the Chanticleers this season. As only a freshman, Small has been the first Chanticleer to cross the finish line in every race thus far. Shaw has been the fourth Chant to cross the line in the three races he has competed in this season.

The reigning men's southeast regional champion is host, University of Virginia who currently sits at the number two spot in the region and 12th in the national polls.

Advancement to National Championship Qualifications

From each of the nine regions the top two teams automatically qualify, and top four individuals on a non-qualifying team. In addition 13 more teams are chosen at-large and two more individuals. The women's southeast region is projected to get two more at-large teams, which would make the individual qualifying chances a little better. A top 25 individual finish is also necessary to advance individually and is awarded All-Region honors. The women's team has a shot at a top ten finish which would be their highest finish since 2006 (10th). Women have been ranked as high as 7th in the region this year, and are currently 14th.