American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships 
Holloway Park - Lakeland, Florida 
Friday, October 29, 2021 – 7:50 a.m. CT 
Live Results | Watch: ESPN+ 
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DALLAS (SMU) -- The Cross Country team is heading to Tampa to compete at the American Athletic Conference Championship hosted by South Florida on Friday. The team is going into the race ranked sixth in the USTFCCCA South Central Region. 

The team has seen plenty of success during the regular season, winning the UTA Gerald Richey Invite and finishing second in the season-opener hosted by Texas A&M. 

Although the Mustangs are made largely up of athletes new to the Hilltop, the athletes have said they have a close-knit team that have become family. 

"I felt a little nervous coming into the season because there were so many unknowns with the mostly new team," Sophomore Maddie Hulcy said. "However, I quickly learned that it was a group of talented, kind, supportive, and committed women who wanted the team to succeed just as much as I did." 

According to Hulcy, one of their strengths as a team is their commitment to each other and their ability to run as a team when it matters. Hulcy has scored at all but one meet moving her towards her goal of scoring for the team at conference and regionals. She said she spent a good portion of the last regular season meet running with her teammates right by her side, and this helps improve the team score by working together. This teamwork is first developed in practice where Hulcy said everyone brings their best effort and attitude every day. 

"It's a great feeling to excel in workouts together," Hulcy said. "I'm excited to see all that hard work pay off in the championship season." 

Heading into the meet, Hulcy said she is hoping for the team to place in the top three at the AAC Championships. This is a placement that redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Gearin and graduate transfer Cayla Eckenroth also believe the team can achieve. Graduate transfer Steffi Jones is confident the team could even win the title. 

"I'm really proud of how far the cross country team has come since I joined as a freshman," Hulcy said. "To even talk about shooting for a conference title and see that as a realistic goal shows so much improvement and growth as a program. The team has become really tight this season and we all have a commitment to each other to do our best for SMU. I feel so excited and proud to be a part of improving this program for all the student-athletes that will come after us." 

Hulcy said there are some strong teams in the conference but they do not count themselves out. She said they have not all had their best races on the same day yet and, if that happens at the meet, she knows they will be really proud of their results. 

While the team has high goals, they also have high individual goals. Eckenroth said she hopes to place in the top 14 individuals. As a new member of the team, she said Head Coach A' Havahla Haynes and her teammates have made it a safe and positive environment that she can thrive in. It has helped her find her love of running again and go through training with a smile on her face. 

"I think that this has helped me grow as an athlete because, when you love what you do, it makes it so much easier to be positive, to be the teammate you should be, and be the athlete you have always wanted to be," Eckenroth said. "Coming from a different program at a different school, I realize how lucky I am to have such an amazing support system here and I can't compare it to anything else." 

Eckenroth's main goal as she finishes out her last cross country season is to have her best season yet. Fellow graduate transfer, Jones, is on the opposite end her cross country career with this being her first year competing in the sport. Her primary goal has been to use it to better herself. 

"Coming from track, a sport that is largely individual, I've learned to race for a new motive: other people," Jones said. "My teammates are depending on me to pass a certain amount of people when the finish line comes close. Every point matters to them, and my personal time is no longer the priority." 

Jones said, heading in to conference this week, her goal is to leave it all on the course and inspire her teammates to give it their all as well. She said the team has made huge improvements in the last two months and they are hungry for success this weekend. 

"We're in a unique situation where all the girls on our team could be a valuable asset when it comes to scoring points for race day, so the more we focus on running for each other and not ourselves, the better chance we have of taking a conference title on Friday," Jones said. "I totally believe these girls can win a conference title on Friday." 

Gearin was first across the line for the Mustangs in the Arturo Barrios meet, and is hoping to compete with the top group in championship race to be proud of her effort at the end of the day. She said that as an individual and as a team, the season has been about making progress and they've done that throughout the season as they push each other to be their best. 

"We have slowly been moving up in the South Central Region rankings, which is exciting," Gearin said. "Our races have shown how far we have come as a team and that we still have more potential to unlock." 

Gearin said the team has had great workouts as a group the past few weeks leading up to the conference championship, and they are feeling strong headed into Friday. 

"I am super excited to run at my first conference meet with the team," Gearin said. "We have a chance to place very high as a team, so I am excited to give our best effort and see what we can accomplish." 

One thing is clear about the team as they head into Friday's race: they are a tight-knit group of coaches, athletes and support staff that will push each other to be their best. 

"It's truly a family we've built," Jones said. "Our group of girls is definitely a one-of-a-kind team, but we wouldn't be as strong as we are today without Coach Haynes." 

Jones said they have a tremendous amount of respect for their coach, and that she is a great listener, an excellent motivator and always knows exactly what to say to each of the athletes individually to guide them to success. 

"We have an amazing staff that gives so much time and effort to help us be our best," Hulcy said. "I think that Coach Hav's leadership, commitment, and belief in the team and our abilities has changed the team so much over the past few years. We also really appreciate our volunteer coach Colin Lamb and student manager Jack Dorsher for being with us every early morning and constantly supporting us on our best and worst days. None of us would have made it through the season without our athletic trainer Yusuke Ohashi, who is always ready, willing, and able to do whatever we need to keep us healthy both physically and mentally, and we are so grateful for him." 

Haynes said that the women have high goals heading into this conference championship, and they are not backing away from them. 

"Looking at the scope of the season the training has been consistent, each woman has been committed to the process and I believe what it comes down to heading into the conference championship is an individual choice for team success," Haynes said. "I can see their fitness; they can feel their fitness and when those align the choice is - to run instead of be outrun." 

The meet will take place on Friday with the Women's 6K beginning at 7:50 a.m. (CT) at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Florida. The award ceremony will take place approximately 50 minutes after the race begins. The race will be streamed on ESPN+.