September 14, 2022
Huntsville, Alabama – The North Alabama Showcase and Southern Showcase will be taking place at the John Hunt Cross Country Course this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16, in John Hunt Park.
The North Alabama Showcase is a collegiate meet directed by the University of North Alabama (UNA). Races begin at 7:30 a.m. on Friday with the men’s 8K followed by the women’s 5k at 8:15 a.m.
Confirmed teams for this weekend’s races include Alabama, Alabama A&M, Alcorn State, Auburn, Augusta, Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Birmingham Southern, Bryan, Chattanooga, Covenant, Cumberland, Eastern Florida State, EKU, Emmanuel, FGCU, Gadsden State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Lamar, Lee, Memphis, Miles, Mississippi College, Mississippi State, New Orleans North Alabama, Samford, South Alabama, USF, University of Southern Indiana, Southern Miss, Troy, Queens, UAB, UCF, Wallace State, WKU, William Carey.
National rankings have the Alabama women’s team ranked 7th and the Ole Miss women’s team ranked 15th. For the men, Ole Miss is ranked 16th in the nation. A total of 12 regionally ranked teams will be participating.
“The support and enthusiasm from the Huntsville Sports Commission and City of Huntsville has truly made this meet special,” stated North Alabama Showcase Director and UNA Head Cross Country Coach, Jeremy Provence. “It’s awesome to see the entire north Alabama community embrace cross country! We are excited to be right in the middle of it and cannot wait to lace up the spikes and compete against an incredible field of teams this year.”
The Southern Showcase is a two-day high school cross country meet directed by Huntsville High School. Races start at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16 with the last race of the day starting at 5 p.m. Saturday races start at 8:20 a.m. with the final race at 10:40 a.m. Award ceremonies will follow the final race each day.
This year’s Southern Showcase will host more than 140 teams and 4,000+ runners from 10 states. More information about the 2022 Southern Showcase is available here.
“Huntsville High Cross Country is honored to partner with the Huntsville Sports Commission, Huntsville Parks & Recreation and Fleet Feet Sports once again in hosting one of the fastest & most competitive high school cross country meets in the US. We have reached a new high team total this year with over 140 teams registered & ten states represented,” said Blake Borden, Huntsville High Cross Country Head Coach. “This is such an amazing opportunity for high school runners in the Huntsville area & state of Alabama at large to compete with the best the south has to offer on what has become one of the premiere cross country courses nationwide.”
The North Alabama Showcase and Southern Showcase have a combined economic impact of approximately $1.4 million for the city of Huntsville, making for a great kick off weekend for cross country at John Hunt Park.
“We’re honored to be the destination of choice for thousands of cross country runners,” said Tommy Battle, Mayor of Huntsville. “Runners are among the most disciplined and determined athletes, and we hope this course will challenge them and help set new records and personal bests.”
The 2022 cross country season at John Hunt Park currently consists of nine major events with a combined economic impact of approximately $4.6 million. The 2022 cross country schedule is as follows:
September 16 North Alabama Showcase
September 16-17 Southern Showcase
October 14-15 Randolph Invitational
October 22 UAH Invitational
October 24 ACAA State Meet
October 29 ASUN Cross Country Championships
November 11 NCAA DI Cross Country South Regional Championships
November 12 All Alabama State Meet
December 3 Garmin RunningLane Championships
Both events this weekend are free to attend. Parking for the Southern Showcase is $5. Food trucks will be on site with items available for purchase. For more information and a full schedule for upcoming events, visit https://www.huntsvillesports.org/calendar/
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The Huntsville Sports Commission is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), organization that promotes and enhances the quality of life in Huntsville by identifying, recruiting, promoting, and staging sporting events and meetings. For more information, contact Brooke Izzo, Director of Marketing & Communications, 256-883-3769, brooke.izzo@huntsvilleal.gov