HELENA, Mont. -- The Carroll College women's cross country team and male runner Jesse McMurtrey will represent the Fighting Saints at the NAIA Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships on Friday. 

The women and McMurtrey qualified after receiving at-large bids after the Frontier Conference Championships. Eight Carroll women runners are in Vancouver, Washington, while seven will run in the race on Friday and one will serve as an alternate. McMurtrey will run as an individual on the men's side. 

"I think the girls have looked really good," Saints coach Shannon Flynn said. "They're feeling confident. Now it's time to go run hard and see what happens. They're excited. Jesse is pumped to get to go to nationals. For him, we'll just have him get a great experience out of nationals and run hard."

The 5K and 8K will be run at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, with the men's race to begin at 11:30 a.m. MST and the women's race to follow at 12:30. 

The Saints squeezed in one hard workout before tapering for the finale. Flynn has emphasized with the team the need to recover, rest well and stay sharp for the race on Friday. 

"I really want them to understand that not everyone gets to go to nationals," Flynn said. "It's a privilege. We're trying to emphasize how we can soak up that experience and make sure we're grateful to be there. We also talked a little bit about how we make it a great experience."

The national championship presents a unique challenge for the Saints. Each race figures to have about 300 runners, an entry pool the Saints have not seen in the regular season. With so many runners, the Saints will look to start fast, pass as many runners as possible and be competitive. 

Results will be posted at CarrollAthletics.com.