Men's Cross Country | 11/05/20 | 5:55 PM

HELENA, Mont. -- The Carroll College Fighting Saints team will look to replicate its successes in Havre a little over a month ago -- but this time the stakes are higher.

The No. 9-ranked women's team and No. 17-ranked men's team go to Havre, Montana, on Friday to compete in the Frontier Conference Championship at Prairie Farms Golf Course. 

In the Frontier Conference Preview held on September 1, both men's and women's teams placed first at the meet. The Saints will look to channel that same race strategy while building on their past races this season. 

"Both the men's and women's teams have focused on rest, mental prep, and gratitude this past week," Saints coach Shannon Flynn said. "Seeing them run and interact, I can tell we are ready to compete hard and compete together. We are relaxed but focused."

The Saints last race came on October 23 at the UMW Open, where the women won and a limited men's roster placed fourth.

On Friday, it's go time for the final time this fall. 

"Our emphasis for the race will be to place process over product and to control the controllables," Flynn said. "We need to be there for each other when it gets hard and to trust our training. The men are young, but they have great drive and the ability to win if they believe in that. The women will need to balance confidence with not taking anything for granted, but they have executed that all season and should be able to draw on their continued growth and strength."

Fielding a team to this point, through the ups and downs of a season amidst coronavirus, held its own challenges. The Saints are grateful for a chance to compete and win a championship.

"We are really glad to have made it to this point, and I'm just so proud of the athletes for their resilience all season," Flynn said. "There have been a lot of layers of stress for every team in the Conference, and we're excited for all of us to get to compete together in a time where that really is a privilege."

The men's race is scheduled to start at 12 p.m., while the women are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.