AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State Athletics will hold a joint press conference and sendoff for the ASU cross country squad on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 2:30 p.m., in the J. Fleming Norvell Golf House on the Forest Hills campus.

In its fifth season under head coach Adam Ward, the Jaguar cross country program earned its first trip to the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 8 when the Jaguars finished second in the NCAA Southeast Regional in Wingate, N.C.

ASU, ranked No. 2 in the final Southeast Region poll, finished behind only Lees-McRae’s 85 points. Jaguar senior Jenafer Forward once again led the way for the Jaguars, finishing seventh out of 155 runners with a time of 24:11. Freshman Savannah Sutton and junior Kara Kreutzer joined Forward in the top 20. Sutton narrowly missed earning an all-region selection, crossing the line 16th at 24:51. Kreutzer was 20th at 25:02.

With its second-place regional finish, the cross country squad becomes the fourth ASU athletic program to earn a berth to the NCAA’s highest level of competition, joining the Jaguar men’s golf team (10 appearances in the NCAA Championships) and the men’s and women’s basketball teams (one appearance each in the Elite Eight).

Refreshments will be served and Ward and selected student-athletes will be available for interviews.