University of North Carolina Athletics
November 14, 2026 | Cross Country
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina's women's cross country program has earned an at-large bid to this year's NCAA Championships while Caden Leonard earned an individual bid to the championships.
This year's race will be held in Terre Haute, Ind. at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on November 21.
The women earned their spot in the national race followed a season bouncing between 18th and 19th in the USTFCCCA rankings. At this weekend's Southeast Regional Championships, the Tar Heels placed seventh out of 269 competing teams. The women held an impressive eight second spread through the seven athletes participating. The regional's result followed a team finish of fourth at this year's ACC Championships.
As for Leonard, the freshman has racked up quite the resume in his first collegiate season. The Southlake, Texas native led the Tar Heels in each race this season, including back-to-back top-ten finishes at the ACC and Southeast Regional Championships. Leonard finished ninth at both races, clocking in a personal best 8k time of 23:00.0 as well as his first-ever 10k time of 29:20.5.
Leonard has garnered conference attention being named ACC Freshman of the Week on three occasions throughout the season, leading to being awarded ACC Freshman of the Year at the conference championship. This weekend, Leonard claimed Southeast All-Region honors following a placement within the top-25.
This year's race will be held in Terre Haute, Ind. at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on November 21.
The women earned their spot in the national race followed a season bouncing between 18th and 19th in the USTFCCCA rankings. At this weekend's Southeast Regional Championships, the Tar Heels placed seventh out of 269 competing teams. The women held an impressive eight second spread through the seven athletes participating. The regional's result followed a team finish of fourth at this year's ACC Championships.
As for Leonard, the freshman has racked up quite the resume in his first collegiate season. The Southlake, Texas native led the Tar Heels in each race this season, including back-to-back top-ten finishes at the ACC and Southeast Regional Championships. Leonard finished ninth at both races, clocking in a personal best 8k time of 23:00.0 as well as his first-ever 10k time of 29:20.5.
Leonard has garnered conference attention being named ACC Freshman of the Week on three occasions throughout the season, leading to being awarded ACC Freshman of the Year at the conference championship. This weekend, Leonard claimed Southeast All-Region honors following a placement within the top-25.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
Sunday, November 15
Sunday, November 15
Sunday, November 15
Sunday, November 15