Submitted Photo One Minot State cross country runner stays neck-in-neck with two others. Photo by Steven Schultz, courtesy of MSU Athletics

It’s championship season for the Beaver runners, and the Minot State cross-country teams are ready to race.

The Beavers head to Nebraska for the NSIC Championships hosted by Wayne State on Friday, and after two months of training and competition, Minot State’s runners are set to race.

“I think we’re ready!” Minot State cross country coach Steven Schultz said. “They’ve looked good in practice the last couple of weeks, and folks are feeling good and getting healthier.

“So I think we’re going to have a good day on Friday.”

The Championships, held at the Wayne Country Club, get underway at noon on Friday, October 24, with the women’s 6-kilometer championship race. The men’s 8K championship race follows, starting at 1:15 p.m.

The Minot State women were picked to finish 7th at the Championships in the preseason coaches’ poll, and will look to meet or exceed that finish this weekend.

Senior Emery Smith, who ran a career-best time of 22 minutes, 44 seconds in the 6K at the Marauders Open, the Beavers’ most recent race, has been one of Minot State’s team leaders along with junior Bailey Wride, a two-time NSIC champion in indoor track and field.

As for the Minot State men, they were picked to finish 12th in the preseason coaches’ poll, and the Beavers look to spoil that prediction.

Jake Jenkins has led the way for the Beavers all season, and like Smith, turned in a career-best in the men’s 8K in his last race, clocking a time of 26:20 at the Marauders Open.

“I think Jake is ready for a big day,” Schultz said. “He’s looked fantastic in practice this whole season, and I think he’s ready to put together a good one on Friday.”

This Friday’s NSIC Championship is the first of two championship weekends for the Beavers, who will also compete at the NCAA Central Region Championship in Joplin, Missouri, on Saturday, November 8.