PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — Six meets stand between the Hawks’ chance for a third straight men’s cross country conference championship and the opportunity for the women to win their first since 2008. The 2016 Maryland Eastern Shore cross country schedule contains five regular season meets until the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships in late October.

It all begins at the place where the Hawks performed so well a year ago, when the team will run in the Delaware State Invitational in Smyrna, Delaware on September 10th. One week later the team will host its only home meet of the season, the annual Cappy Anderson Invitational. Another trip to Smyrna concludes the month of September when the team will race in the DSU Farm Run on the 24th.

October begins in the Keystone State and a trip to Lehigh for the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem on the 1st of the month. Two weeks later the team will head to Princeton, New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational to wrap up the regular season.

The 2016 MEAC Championships will be run on October 29th at the Delaware State Outreach and Research Center in Smyrna. If successes are found at the championships, opportunities will arise to compete in NCAA regional events in November.

On November 11th, the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional will be held at Penn State in State College. One week later the Hawks will have the opportunity to go to either the IC4A/ECAC Championships in New York City or the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on the 19th.

Nearly all the key performers, both men and women, are returning this season for the Hawks, along with several newcomers.