Nov. 1, 2007

Allendale, Mich. - Two weeks after winning their respective conference meets, the men's and women's cross country teams are ready for regional competition. The men have won five consecutive regional championships, while the women have claimed six straight titles. Nate Peck has won three consecutive individual titles and is looking for his fourth.

"We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete for a spot at the NCAA Championships," head coach Jerry Baltes said. "This is the second step of a championship season and we feel that we are very qualified to get the job done."

The meet is on Saturday in Edwardsville, Ill. on the campus of SIU-Edwardsville. The women run at 10:30 a.m. and the men run at 11:30 a.m. (EST). The top 15 runners in each group are named to the all-region teams and the top overall team advances to the NCAA National Championship meet in Joplin, Mo. on Nov. 17.

"We have three goals for the weekend, the first being to advance to the NCAA Championships," Baltes said. "The second is to run a controlled and efficient meet so that we can get back to training, and the third is to compete to win the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship."