EAST GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T cross country program has announced its upcoming 2022 schedule. The slate features four regular-season events, all in-state, before running in their first-ever Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Cross Country Championships later in the fall. 

"We are looking forward to a new beginning, and it all starts with the cross country season," said A&T's Director of Track and Field Programs, Allen Johnson. "We are excited to get started with the first competition at Elon on the ninth of September!" 

Just as it did in 2021, the season kicks off at the Elon Opener on Friday, Sept. 9. Both the men and women finished seventh overall in the event, and two of A&T's three top-50 finishers, sophomore Fajr Kelly and senior Ayoola Gbolade, are returning. 

From there, the Aggies will head to Cary, N.C., for the Adidas XC Challenge, hosted by North Carolina State. It will be their second straight year competing there. The women placed in the top-five in 2021. 

Next on the slate is the Cedric Walker HBCU Challenge, also in Cary, on October 1. The last time A&T competed in this race in 2019, the men claimed the title victory as G'Jasmyne Butler defended her individual title, winning it for the second year in a row. 

The team will conclude the regular season at High Point's VertCross in Kernersville on October 14. The last time they ran the course was at the 2021 Big South Conference Cross Country Championships, where preseason projections had both teams finishing seventh. 

Both teams had other plans, however, with the men finishing fourth overall and the women coming in sixth. 

The CAA championships will take place two weeks after the conclusion of the regular season on October 28 in Newark, Del., at the White Clay Creek State Park.