Black Hills State University Director of Cross Country/Track & Field, Brian Medigovich, announced the 2024 schedule for the Yellow Jacket cross country program on Friday, July 26, 2024. The slate features seven potential meets (pending qualification of the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships), including a home event to kick off the year.
The season gets underway with the 9th Annual Gage McSpadden Memorial Race, hosted once again at the Fort Meade Recreation Area in Sturgis, South Dakota. The women’s 4K will start at 6 p.m., while the men’s 6K will start at 6:30 p.m. for the home meet on Friday, September 6. Just over two weeks after the season opener, BHSU will wrap up the month of September with the Blue Hawk Invitational, hosted by Dickinson State University on September 21. The Blue Hawk Invitational will feature a women’s 6K starting at 12 p.m. and a men’s 8K starting at 12:40 p.m. at the DSU Cross Country Course outside of Medora, North Dakota.
The month of October will begin in the southeast and end in the southwest for the Yellow Jackets, as they travel to Huntsville, Alabama, and the UAH Chargers Cross Country Invitational on October 12, followed by the RMAC Cross Country Championships in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on October 26. An early morning in Huntsville will begin at 7 a.m. MT / 8 a.m. CT with the men’s 8K, followed by the women’s 6K at 7:50 a.m. MT / 8:50 a.m. CT in the John Hunt Park. The conference championship meet will consist of a women’s 6K and a men’s 8K race at the Gene Torres Golf Course, hosted by New Mexico Highlands University.
The Bauer XC Classic, hosted by South Dakota Mines at the Hart Ranch Golf Club in Rapid City, South Dakota, will be the final tune-up preceding NCAA postseason competition. The meet will feature a men’s 8K race at 10 a.m. and a women’s 6K race at 10:45 a.m. on November 2. Both the NCAA Division II Cross Country South Central Regional and the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will consist of a women’s 6K race and a men’s 10K race to conclude the season. This year’s regional event will be hosted by MSU Denver at Washington Park in Denver, Colorado, on November 9, while the national championship will be hosted by the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California, on November 23.
Start times for the RMAC Cross Country Championships, NCAA Division II Cross Country South Central Regional, and NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships have not yet been announced.