Lynchburg, Va. – The University of Lynchburg men's and women's cross country teams announced their 2026 schedule on Wednesday, which features six meets throughout the regular season and out-of-state trips to Minnesota and Connecticut.

Only two of Lynchburg's six meets were on the 2025 schedule, and each postseason site has moved locations from 2025. The NCAA Championships in Northfield, Minn. mark the furthest postseason trip for the cross country team since St. Olaf University hosted the event in 2007.

Closer to home, Lynchburg is excited to host the NCAA South Region Championships in Charlottesville, Va, which will grant automatic national bids to the winning teams. 2026 marks the third time in five years that the regional championships will be hosted in Virginia.

2026 Schedule

The Hornets will open the regular season on Friday, Sept. 4 at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. At the meet, the women's 4k and men's 6k are both shortened distances to accommodate athletes' early-season training blocks. For the remainder of the season, the women will race six kilometers, while the men traverse eight.

Two weeks later, Lynchburg will host the NCAA South Region Preview at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, which serves as the home course for the University of Virginia cross country teams. The Hornets expect to face several regional foes before meeting them in the postseason.

As the calendar turns to October, the Hornets will enter their first split-squad weekend of the season. National-level athletes will travel to Northfield, Minn. to compete at the 2026 Running of the Cows, a national preview meet hosted by Carleton University at the Bill Huyck Cross Country Course. Other athletes will compete locally, participating in the Richmond Invitational in Mechanicsville, Va. on Friday, Oct. 2. 

The teams will split once more on Saturday, Oct. 17, with representation at the Connecticut College Invite in Waterford, Conn. and Roanoke South Region Showdown in Salem, Va. National-level athletes will aim to improve the team ranking in Connecticut, while others look to produce fast times on a flat course at Green Hill Park.

Lynchburg opens the postseason on Saturday, Oct. 31 with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Shenandoah University at Kernstown Battlefield. The site hosted the 2022 conference championships and consists of several steep rolling hills.

The Hornets will enjoy a weekend to rest before returning to Charlottesville to host the NCAA South Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 14. Automatic and at-large bids will be finalized throughout the weekend, and on Saturday, Nov. 21, the NCAA Championships in Minnesota will conclude the 2026 season.

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--LYN--