WACO, Texas - For only the third time in the last 12 seasons, Baylor cross country will not be hosting the NCAA South Central Regional. BU's teams will travel to Agri Park in Fayetteville, Ark., to compete in the event on Friday.

The women's 6,000-meter race will be the first event of the day at 12 p.m., followed by the men's 10,000-meter race at 1p.m.

As part of the South Central Region, the Bears will face teams from Arkansas, Louisiana and the eastern half of Texas.

Regional teams will put their top seven runners out in an effort to be one of the top two teams in the regional and in turn earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. As in other races this fall, only the top five times from those seven runners will count towards the team score.

Along with the top two teams, the top four individuals not on an advancing team receive an automatic berth into the national meet. Additional teams and individuals are chosen through an at-large selection process for the 2014 NCAA Championship, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 22, in Terre Haute, Ind.

Arkansas and Texas rank first and second, respectively, on the men's side, while the Razorbacks and Baylor lead the women's regional rankings entering the race.

Besides being No. 2 in the region currently, the BU women are ranked No. 21 nationally following a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships. Last season, the Baylor women were sixth at the regional meet with All-Region performances from Rachel Johnson and Alex Davis.

"Our goal is to run a smart a race to put ourselves at the NCAA meet without emptying the tank," head coach Todd Harbour said of the women's team. "Every race out, they've done exactly what I've asked them to do, so I don't expect anything different this week. We've got to take care of business."

For the women, Johnson and Davis both return, along with Mariah Kelly, Maggie Montoya and Peyton Thomas. Madie Zimmerman and Ann-Marie Dunlap will be getting their first regional experience.

Johnson has finished no lower than third overall in any of her three races this year. She won the Pre-National Invitational and was third in her last meet out at the Big 12 Championships. Davis has been a scoring runner in all five of her races this fall. Kelly, Montoya and Dunlap can all make the same boast.

The Baylor men are 11th in the region, after claiming sixth at the Big 12 Championships. The Bears will be looking to improve upon last season's ninth-place finish at the regional meet.

"Coming off of conference, we think a 10K race is going to suit us pretty well," assistant coach Jon Capron said of the men's team. "We can run even faster. I think top five isn't a crazy thing to expect from us, and that would be a pretty good performance."

For the past two races, the men have been led by junior Kyle Scanlan, while freshman Eric Anderson was the lead runner for the Bears through the first four races of the year.

Seniors Derwin Graham and Jonathan Tijerina have provided solid scoring options for the Bears throughout the year, while sophomores Jordan West has been a scoring runner in each of his five races of 2014.

Juniors Matt Galvin and Chris McElroy will look to provide another scoring threat for the Bears in the race.

Complete results and a recap of the meet will be available on BaylorBears.com following the event.

To stay current on all things Baylor cross country, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorTrack