Dillard, HBCUAC Individual Qualifiers gear up for 2024 NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship
NEW ORLEANS - November 20, 2024 - The 2024 Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) Champion Dillard University and individual qualifiers Ja'Neisha Collins of Philander Smith University, Jewel Cross of Talladega College, and Ta'Mya Sims and Herlancia Miller of Tougaloo College will race for the title at the 2024 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women's Cross Country National Championship at Gans Creek Cross Country course in Columbia, Mo. at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
The six-kilometer race will stream on the NAIA Channel of the Urban Edge Network streaming App, which is free to download on streaming devices app stores or watch online. Live results will also be available.
The Lady Bleu Devils dominated for their fourth straight conference title. Four of its five runners finished in the top 10, led by Brooklyn Acosta, who finished third at 27:04.70. Tazia McGee (28:12.53), Kevell Byrd (28:23.99), and Kennedy Timmons (28:33.69), who finished sixth through eighth place. Dillard is one of 35 teams that qualified.
The individuals qualified by placing in the top 15 and not running on the champion team at the conference championship. Collins cruised to her second straight individual title, finishing in 26:04.02, which was 41 seconds faster than Cross (26:45.73). The two-time champion won three HBCUAC Runner of the Week awards. Sims and Miller finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Collins, Cross, Sims, and Miller are four of 82 individuals who will compete for the individual national title along with the athletes who qualified with their schools.
The top 40 finishers will earn NAIA All-American.
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About HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Oakwood University (AL), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.