THE LEAD

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- Tomorrow, the Sabercats Cross Country seasons have their grand finale at NCCAA Nationals. The final event will be the "kick" for the 2019 season - after long weeks of training, it's time for one final exertion.

Twelve and a half weeks, 87 days of formal team training, six meets, and endless miles and ice buckets will all culminate into one final meet, as NCCAA schools from across the country converge at the College of the Ozarks for one final test.

THE CHALLENGE

Context: The Sabercats come into the season finale not having run in a competitive race since the 25th of October and the Oshkosh Open. So yes, this presents the challenge of competitive sharpness, but at the same time, the two squads have been able to tailor their training regimen to peak at the right time.

Course: The second challenge the squads will face is the ever-formidable course down in the Ozarks. It's the same course they ran last year - the one with "the hill" - a long, steep climb in the middle of the course that reduces nationals-caliber runners to nothing more than a walk.

A fast course? Anything but. Setting a PR at this course is an achievement in itself.

Competition: On the men's side, Bob Jones University is slated to have the best time of anyone by over four minutes, but history tells that anything can happen at this course. Here's the latest NCCAA DII Top 5 for the men:

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For the Women, the Sabercats rank 6th in the NCCAA DII but are less than a minute behind 5th-place Grace Christian University:

*Includes 5K adjustment for a 6K event

THE POTENTIAL

Fopma in First: Since Caleb Wagner's 1st-place finish at the 2015 NCCAA National Championship, no one from Maranatha has been the first to cut the tape at the season finale. Jeremy Fopma's time of 26:28 (Wisconsin Private College Championships, October 19) is the fastest recorded time in the NCCAA DII this season, but Fopma will have to hold of Ozark Christian's Eli Connatser, who ran a 26:37 time in Joplin, Missouri on October 26. A dark horse for the final meet is Kansas Christian's Daniel Nega, who ran a 26:58 time at the same event as Connatser.

That nine-second separation between Fopma and Connatser is enough to make the season finale a nail-biter. And Connaster will be hungry - he won Nationals in 2018.

Forecasted Finishes: Setting a PR at this year's Nationals will be a challenge, to say the least. Listed below are the PR's for each runner on the squads for the 2019 season.

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THE RACE

To follow NCCAA Nationals, follow @MBUSabercats on Twitter or find live results at mbusabercats.com/schedule.