NCCAA DII Cross Country Championships Preview
JACKSON, Miss. -- The Sabercats will be fielding two teams at the NCCAA DII National Meet tomorrow. The squads will have their eyes fixed on a standout performance at the season finale.
Men's Preview
The Men's Squad will be fielding the maximum 7 runners in the event. MBU had 10 runners qualify for Nationals this season.
A breakdown of the Sabercats' top 7 times of the season is listed below:
| Runner Name | Season Best | Meet | NCCAA Rank |
| Jeremiah Doak | 28:38 | 2017 Wisconsin Private College Championships | 8 |
| Cameron Rankin | 28:40 | 2017 Wisconsin Private College Championships | 9 |
| Robert Kile | 29:49 | 2017 Warrior Invitational | 12 |
| Kurt Wagner | 30:10 | 2017 Wisconsin Private College Championships | 13 |
| Josh Kruit | 30:46 | 2017 Wisconsin Private College Championships | 17 |
| David Williams | 30:47 | 2017 Wisconsin Private College Championships | 18 |
| Colton Lingle | 32:36 | 2017 Wisconsin Private College Championships | 28 |
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To qualify as individuals, the male runners must run an 8K race in 34:00 or better. To qualify as a team, the group must run a combined time of 3 hours flat (for their top 5 runners).
The Sabercats' best time as a team came when they hosted the 2017 Wisconsin Private College Championships on Oct. 14. MBU clocked in with a combined team time of 2:29:02 that day - 31 minutes clear of the team qualifying time.
During the regular season, Maranatha posted the second-best team time in the NCCAA DII. The men's squad from Bob Jones University clocked in at 2:18:16 at their own event on Oct. 28.
Women's Preview
The Sabercats Women's Team will field a full team of 6 runners as well.
Only the Sabercats' top 3 runners met the individual qualifying time of 24:30 for a 5K, but according to NCCAA policy, if 3 runners meet the mark, the institution can field a full team.
On Sep. 30, MBU did meet the team-time standard of 2:05:00. That day, the Sabercats registered at 2:03:26 at the Warrior Invitational in Milwaukee.
A breakdown of the 6 runners is below:
| Runner Name | Season Best | Meet | NCCAA Rank |
| Sarah Vander Pluym | 22:28 | 2017 Warrior Invitational | 16 |
| Madelyn Hansel | 22:42 | 2017 Warrior Invitational | 18 |
| Anna Heins | 23:27 | 2017 Warrior Invitational | 21 |
| Lauryn Wigdal | 25:48 | 2017 Warrior Invitational | 39 |
| Katheryn Marten | 28:25 | 2017 Wisconsin Private College Championships | 47 |
| Haly Hendricks | 28:56 | 2017 Warrior Invitational | 50 |
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That team time of 2:03:26 came in at 5th-best in the regular season.
Teams ranked 3rd through 7th are separated by just 6 minutes on the women's side, so it will be a tough battle for those coveted top-5 slots.
Defending champions Moody Bible (1:42:09) and defending runners-up Bob Jones University (1:45:42) are on track to battle it out for the national title.
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The event will be held at the high-profile Choctaw Trails in Jackson, Miss.
For more information regarding the event, click here.