HELENA, Mont. — A shot at nationals awaits the Carroll College cross country teams in Billings, Montana, on Friday.
The Saints are geared up and ready to run in the Frontier Conference Championship, with the men's 8K to begin at noon and the women's 5K to begin at 1 p.m.
The Saints are expected to be in the thick of it come race time. The top finishing teams advance to the national meet in Vancouver, Washington, and then at-large bids determine the rest of the field. Outside of the top finishing teams, the top four individuals who finish within the Top 15
get a bid to nationals.
"We're prepared to be chasing all of those teams," Saints coach Shannon Flynn said. "I think both women and men are healthy. I'd love for everybody to run a PR and everybody is in shape to do that. The fact of the matter is, we're racing, we have to be ahead of certain people to compete. That will be the emphasis o the women's side."
The women are ranked No. 17 entering the championship and will be a championship contender. Back on September 13, when the Saints competed in the Conference Preview run on the very same course as Friday's championship, the Saints placed second overall in the Frontier while freshman Reghan Worley won the race.
The women's team will face stiff competition from the top of the Frontier, including Lewis-Clark State College, Rocky Mountain College and Montana Western.
"The women's side we do need to run well and go execute and do our job well," Flynn said. "I think we're in a good position to make it. We have to stay hungry and not just assume we're going to make nationals. We have to run well. There are four teams that are very good. Every single one of those teams has a shot depending on which people run and who is healthy."
Back during the conference preview, the men placed fifth but were dealing with an incomplete squad that was working its way into form. Now, on the eve before the conference meet, the Saints are feeling good about their prospects.
"On the men's side we have several people that are really in position to have a good race," Flynn said. "You never know what will happen. You never know what kind of day people will have."
The Saints got one last shot to run on the course on Thursday. Friday, every stride will count.
Full results will be available on CarrollAthletics.com.
