Raiders to compete in C-USA Championship

Saturday, October 31

Bowling Green, Ky.

10 a.m.

Middle Tennessee

C-USA Championship

10/30/2015 3:37:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country

First time since 2012 in Bowling Green, Ky.

By: @MTAthletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – With the regular season over, the Middle Tennessee men's and women's cross country teams turn to the Conference USA Championships, starting Saturday in Bowling Green, Ky., at Kereiakes Park. The men's 8K race will start competition at 9 a.m., with the women's 5k race to follow at 10 a.m.

Event: Conference USA Championship
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31
Host: WKU
Site: Bowling Green, Ky. (Kereiakes Park)
Start Times: 9 a.m. Men's 8K | 10 a.m. Women's 5K
Results: ConferenceUSA.com
Last time at Kereiakes: 2012 Sun Belt Championships

Last Time Out
In their final test of the regular season, both teams captured the team title at the Front Runner Invitational. The MT women amassed only 21 points, placing five in the top 10, while the men's squad tallied 19 points with all five runners finishing in the top seven.

Hillary Rono led MT in the 5K race at the Moccasion Bend Course, finishing in 15:04.20 with Eliud Rutto (15:05.69) finishing second and Kigen Chemadi third (15:06.97.

Josphine Kiptebeny claimed her second first place finish of the season in the Front Runner Invite, finishing the two-mile course in 10:38.29.

Competition
Men: FIU, Florida Atlantic, LA Tech, Marshall, North Texas, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA, WKU
Women: Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, LA Tech, Marshall, North Texas, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA, WKU

USTFCCCA Rankings
For the women's teams, four from Conference USA are ranked in their respective regions. Rice holds the highest spot in the rankings, entering the C-USA Championships ranked sixth in the South Central Region. North Texas and UTSA enter this weekend ranked 10^th and 12th, respectively. In the USTFCCA South Region rankings, Southern Miss is ranked ninth overall.

Much like the women, four teams from C-USA are ranked in regional rankings. UTEP enters the championships ranked third in the Mountain Region and are also 11^th in the USTFCCCA National Ranking. The Blue Raiders are tied for the second highest ranking in C-USA with a fifth-place ranking in the South Region, while North Texas holds the same rank in the South Central Region. UTSA, who also are in the South Central Region, are ranked 15^th.

At Kereiakes Park
Senior Julia Kitevski raced her first conference championship for the Blue Raiders at Kereiakes Park, when the Blue Raiders were a part of the Sun Belt. In the 2012 race, Kitevski finished sixth overall and was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year.

Looking for the Win
Middle Tennessee, while racing at the Kereiakes Park in the 2011 and 2012 Sun Belt Championships, has yet to win in Bowling Green.

Associate Head Coach Keith Vroman
Thoughts on the year so far
"It has really been a challenging year with injuries so we have had issues throughout the season, but at this point everything is coming together. Training in the last month for both teams since Louisville has been as good as it has all year. I think they are ready to compete for a title"

Competition for the men's and women's side
"On the women's side, Rice will be tough and you can't discount North Texas, Southern Miss and WKU."

"For the men, UTEP is ranked number 11^th in the country and they deserve it. It is good for Conference USA. Paul Ereng has done a good job getting his team together this year and they ran good all season. North Texas is the defending champion and they have had some good races this season as well."