DENTON, Texas. - The WKU men's and women's cross country teams put their regular-season work to the test on Saturday at the Eagle Point Cross Country Course as they race in their first Conference USA Cross Country Championships, hosted by North Texas.
The women's 5,000-meter race is set to start at 9 a.m. (CT) and will be followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 10 a.m. (CT). The Top 21 finishers on both sides will be named All-Conference and will earn first (1-7), second (8-14) or third (15-21) distinction base upon their finish. The highest placing freshmen and seniors will also be recognized by the conference post-race.
Neither WKU squad has ever raced at the Eagle Point Cross Country Course but head coach Erik Jenkins believes running courses such as Louisville's Tom Sawyer Park and Indiana State's Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country course has his teams prepared for their first C-USA Championships.
The Lady Toppers enter the C-USA Championships ranked 14th in the Southeast Region following a strong regular season led by junior Katie Lever. Lever has led WKU in all four meets in 2014 and five-straight dating back to the 2013 NCAA Southeast Regional. She was named the Conference USA Female Athlete of the Week on Oct. 21 following her performance at the Pre National Invitational. Lever finished fourth at the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championships and is one of the top runners in Conference USA this season.
"Katie has started to really learn how to race," said Jenkins. "Her passion for running has never wavered, she's just learned how to get out and run smart races."
Hilltopper senior David Mokone won the SBC Championships individually in 2013 and nabbed All-SBC honors in his three previous seasons in the league. He's led WKU in three of four races this season and looks to carry over his success into WKU's first trip to the C-USA Championships. Sophomore Peter Agaba, who finished eighth at the SBC Championships in 2013, is coming off a strong performance at the Pre National Invitational where he led the Hilltoppers in a race for the first time. Both Agaba and Mokone should be in contention for an All-Conference USA finish.
"What we've done in the past is the past but we expect them to go out and try to do it at a higher level this weekend," Jenkins said of his returning all-conference runners. "Everything starts at zero so we expect those guys to go out and give their best."
For more information on the WKU cross country teams, follow the program on Twitter at @WKUTrackField.
