Loyola New Orleans’ men’s and women’s cross-country teams will race Friday at the Southern States Athletic Conference championships in Clinton, Mississippi. The men’s 8,000-meter race starts at 8:30 a.m. CT, followed by the women’s 6,000-meter race at 9:30 a.m. Loyola enters with several runners coming off record-setting performances and will be aiming to advance athletes to the NAIA national championships.

By the Numbers
  • Men’s race: 8,000 meters, starting at 8:30 a.m. CT.
  • Women’s race: 6,000 meters, starting at 9:30 a.m. CT.
  • At the 2025 conference meet, Loyola’s men finished second—1 point behind champion Mobile—and the women placed sixth.
  • NAIA nationals are scheduled for Nov. 20 in Vancouver, Washington.
Yes, But

Loyola’s men narrowly missed the conference title last year, while the women finished sixth. Mobile’s men and William Carey’s women return as the 2025 team champions.

State of Play
  • Men’s standout Jacob Kennedy set a Loyola 8K record of 25:24.9 on Oct. 24; teammates Jace Luckoski and Dylan Brown recorded the program’s second- and third-fastest 8K times.
  • On the women’s side, Genevieve Blanc, Meera Hijazi and Ashlynn Yonge posted the program’s third-, fifth- and seventh-fastest 6K times at the same meet.
  • The races are at Choctaw Trails in Clinton. Winning teams and select individuals qualify for NAIA nationals.
What’s Next

Friday’s results will determine which teams and individuals move on to nationals. The men’s race is expected to start under sunny skies, with temperatures in the low 60s.

Bottom Line

Loyola arrives with strong recent performances and a narrow conference-title margin to make up on the men’s side; Friday offers both teams a chance to turn that momentum into a national-championship berth.