The men’s and women’s cross country teams have been hard at work this season and hope that all of their hard work will pay off this weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Kenosha, Wis.

The first big race of the season, the All-Ohio Championships, was a good indicator for both teams on how they would do later in the season. Both the men and women earned 11th place overall. When narrowed down to Division II teams, the men finished fifth out of 12 teams and the women finished second out of 12 teams.

Both teams took this success and carried it over to the next race at the Wilmington Invitational, coming out on top against more than 30 teams.

Next, they headed to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Northwood, Michigan.

The men tied for second place out of 15 teams and placed their top five runners among the top 30.

Sophomore Brian Baum lead the men on the eight kilometer course with a time of 24:34.2, finishing sixth overall.

Following behind him were Colton Johnson (14th), Jacob Sussman (16th), Isaac Potes (22nd) and Gary Haglund (28th).

Head coach Trent Mack believes the men have been consistent and right on track with his hopes for them this season.

“I thought they ran well at the conference meet finishing runner-up, and I still feel we are capable of a little strong race at the regional meet this Saturday,” Mack said.

“We can’t control how other teams race, so we focus on what we can do. I think if we approach the meet like we’ve approached each race all season, we will walk away very pleased with the results, and hopefully grab one of the top five spots that advance you to the NCAA Championships.”

The women, who finished 10th, were led by Mikaela Bush, who finished in 28th place with a time of 22:23.3, followed by Anna Mion with a time of 22:31.3 and Stephanie Stoffel crossing the finish line at 22:58.5 on the six kilometer course.

Mack believes that their preparation has shown that they are ready to put some strong performances together, and they hope to finish higher this weekend than they did at the conference meet.

“We’re hoping for a little redemption going into the Regional,” Mack said. “The focus on training is over, and this time of the season, racing is all that matters.

“We should be much more prepared this Saturday, so I’m definitely anticipating how they respond and even though the field will be much deeper with competition, I honestly believe we can finish higher then we did at the conference meet.”

The gun will signal the start of the race for the men 10:30 a.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. for the women.

In order to continue their seasons, both teams must place within the top five overall. The program hopes to carry on last year’s success and qualify for the National Championships, which would be held on Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo.