Four top-10 teams at RMAC Championship
The 2013 RMAC Championship will be at Western New Mexico on Saturday. Four top-10 teams including, No. 2 Adams State, No. 3 Western State, No. 8 Metro State and No. 10 Colorado-Colorado Springs, will be competing in the meet making it the most competitive conference championship.
Second-ranked Adams State won the team title at the RMAC Championship last season and will look to repeat on Saturday. In their previous meet, the Grizzlies won first place at the Fort Hays Tiger Open. Alyssa Selve led the way.
Western State finished as the runners-up at the championships. In its previous meet, Western State won the W Mountain race with Amy Penn as the top runner in a field of 97 runners. The team has been off since Oct. 12 and will be on the front lines this Saturday.
Metro State has not competed since Oct. 5 after taking the team title at its own invitational. Janelle Lincks earned the individual victory in the race and will be the lead runner for the Roadrunners on Saturday.
At the Metro State Invitational, No. 10 Colorado-Coloarado Springs took second place behind Metro State. After weeks of practice and rest, maybe the Mountain Lions can avenge the loss.
Two top-10 teams at GNAC Championship
Both No. 5 Alaska-Anchorage and No. 6 Simon Fraser will travel to Monmouth, Ore., for the Great Northwest Conference Championship on Saturday.
Undefeated on the season Alaska-Anchorage will try to repeat last year's victory at the GNAC. The Seawolves are the four-time defending champions of the conference and are looking to become the first league school to win five consecutive team titles.
Senior Susan Tanui is the returning individual champion and the Seawolves also return all-conference honorees from a year ago in seniors Ivy O’Guinn and Susan Bick and sophomore Sarah Freistone.
Simon Fraser has taken a week off of competition after placing second in the Western Washington Invitational on Oct. 12. Senior Kirsten Allen was the Clan's top racer.
No. 1 Grand Valley State at GLIAC Championship
Returning GLIAC and national champsion, No. 1 Grand Valley State will look to continue reign on Saturday at Michigan Tech. The Lakers not only won in 2012, but have won the past four GLIAC titles.
The team has fared well this season with its biggest win coming at the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 4. The Lakers took second out of 63 teams, including DI competition. The team is led by Jessica Janecke.
No. 4 Augustana (S.D.) NSIC Championship
Augustana (S.D.) will begin its postseason journey its home turf when it hosts the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships on Saturday at Yankton Trails Park.
The Vikings took the NSIC by storm when they joined the conference in 2008. The team, who holds the No. 4 national ranking, have won five consecutive and are looking for their sixth consecutive NSIC title and seventh conference title.
Runa Falch enters the postseason with two individual meet wins and the third she placed 12th overall -- the highest Division II finisher -- looking to become the first woman to win the NSIC individual title for a third time. Falch won the NSIC individual championship in 2010 and 2011, the seventh woman in NSIC history to win back-to-back titles, before she placed third at last season's championship.
No. 7 Chico State at CCAA Championship
Chico State will host the California Collegiate Conference Championship on Saturday.
The Wildcats are running after their sixth consecutive CCAA title. The Wildcats are ranked No. 7 in the nation and have finished among the nation's top 10 for 11 consecutive seasons.
No. 9 Edinboro at PSAC Championship
Kutztown will host the PSAC Championship on Saturday.
From 1998 to 2006 Edinboro won nine consecutive conference championships, but the Fighting Scots have finished no better than second since then. A year ago they captured second place for the third consecutive year, as Shippensburg ran its string of PSAC titles to five in a row.
Edinboro did close the gap considerably a year ago, as the Lady Raiders totaled 62 points to Edinboro's 73. In 2011 the difference was 43 points. First-year coach Rick Hammer, who had the unenviable task of taking over for legendary head coach Doug Watts this summer following Watts' retirement, feels that Watts left him with a team ready to reclaim the crown.
Hammer also sees Sarah Krolick as a serious contender for the individual crown. The senior enjoyed a strong postseason last year that started with a fourth place finish in her first try at the PSAC Championships, and ended with an All-American performance at nationals.
