BILLINGS, Mont. – With nearly a month of training and preparation, the cross-country teams of Montana State University Billings are poised and ready to host the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships at Amend Park Saturday, October 26 in Billings. The races are set for 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and consist of an 8,000 meter jaunt for the men and 6,000 meter race for the women.
 
Last season, the championships were held at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon. University of Alaska Anchorage swept first place in both events with Simon Fraser taking home second. The Yellowjacket women took eight place as did the men out of 11 participating schools.
 
"I'm excited for the team to get back to racing," commented head cross-country coach Jon Woehl. "Training for the most part has been really good for everybody. We've been able to get some good workouts in over the past few weeks and simulated some races which has been beneficial. It will be fun to have friends and family out at Amend Park to watch us at home. I'm looking forward to hosting."
 
'JACKET WOMEN: All five Yellowjacket women are expected to compete on Saturday, including junior Nikki Aiken, sophomore Sierra Durbin, sophomore Rachel Hiner, junior Miranda Livingston, and sophomore Kailee Stoppel. Madisan Chavez, an MSUB triathlon team member will make her cross country debut, adding depth to the MSUB squad.
 
"I'm excited with how the training has gone," Woehl said. "Over the past few weeks, Nikki has been running well and continuing to get better. Kailee has started to close the gap a little bit between her and Nikki as well which is good to see. Sierra is healthy again and running well at practice. I have high hopes for Miranda and Rachel as well. The addition of Madisan should help us be even stronger than before. She has had good results in the 5K triathlon so far. The distance this time is a little bit further but without the swim and bike to do first, I expect her to find success right away."
 
 The starting five have all run three races this fall and had one meet cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. Aiken posted her first ever race win in the Hardrocker Cross Country Classic on September 9 to open the season. She earned GNAC player of the week for the performance. The team most recently entered the Roy Griak Invitational at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis and placed 31^st of 32 teams. Aiken again led the way with a 49^th place, 6000-meter time of 23:55.5. With no freshman on the team, the 'Jackets are hoping experience running in important races will pay off on Saturday.
 
'JACKET MEN: A mixture of men's runners have contributed to team scores in the opening three races of the 2019 cross country season. Senior Ronald Venema turned in a 97^th place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational to lead the team after running an 8K in 28:12.8. Sophomores Ase Ackerman and Logan Straus, along with freshman Nick Redgrave are the only team members to appear in every events. MSUB took second place in the Hardrocker Cross Country Classic and 21^st of 28 schools in Minneapolis nearly one month ago.
 
"We'll be sticking with the seven guys that ran at Griak," Woehl said of the MSUB men. "They've been doing well in practice. Logan and Ase have been working together and getting better. Ron is right there with them. Bryant is not far back of those three. Even though Nick and Will have been at the back of our pack, they have continued to get closer and closer every single week, so I'm looking forward to getting them back out on Saturday."
 
THE REST OF THE PACK: The Seawolves enter the weekend as favorites to repeat as GNAC champions this fall, though their path to victory remains far from guaranteed. Both Western Washington men and women downed UAA two weeks ago at the Western Washington Classic while Seattle Pacific women are expected to submit a strong challenge.
 
WEATHER FORECAST: With cold morning rain in the forecast, runners will be competing for fast times against the conditions and each other Saturday. Last season, the Yellowjackets hosted the NCAA West Region Championships at Amend Park is below freezing temperatures and light snow.
 
"I'm not too worried about conditions," said Woehl. "We will be warmer than regionals last year and maybe a little bit wet, but regardless of the weather, we'll be ready to go. We're concentrated on going out and having our best race of the season and we'll see how that shakes out against everybody else."
 
Live race results will be available at GNAC.live. Weather permitting, finish line live feed and awards will be presented on Facebook Live at facebook/gnacsports.