TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's and women's cross country teams are geared up for the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships in DeKalb, Ill. this Saturday. The men's race will begin at 11:00 a.m. CT (Noon ET), with the women's race to follow at Noon CT at the North 40 Course, located on Kishwaukee Drive, behind the NIU Engineering Building and College of Business. On-site parking is $10 for fans, and MAC students can show their ID for free parking. 

The Rocket men's team will rely on the efforts of sophomore Raymond Korir. Korir has proven to be a consistently strong contender, posting three top-10 finishes throughout the season as well as earning MAC Runner of the Week honors on Oct. 1. 

"Raymond has a chance to be in the mix for the top three and if he has a great day, he could be challenging for the win, so that's exciting," said head coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. "As a team, frankly we are just looking to improve and we should. The team has made big strides this fall and my expectation is our performance will reflect that." 

For the women's race, Grove-McDonough's sights are set on surpassing Northern Illinois. "The team to beat is definitely NIU and they will be on their home course, so that's a big advantage. They are firmly in the driver's seat. After that I think it's going to be really close between three to four teams, including us," said Grove-McDonough.

Senior Petronela Simiuc is set to race after last competing at the Under Armour Pre-Nationals, where she posted a time of 21:19.2. "Having Petronela back in the lineup is huge and a few women who have been a little further back than we expected are really on the move, so we are in a good place," said Grove-McDonough. "I'm looking forward to the fight and tenacity we will bring to the race, and I feel like the squad is ready to have their best performance of the season. We have some positive momentum happening right now and it couldn't come at a better time."

Last Time Out 
Both squads last competed at the at the EMU Fall Classic in Dexter, Mich. on Oct. 25. Junior Riley Kwiatkowski led the women, posting a personal-best time of 18:34.0 to place 19th overall. Freshman Jordyn Boyer clocked a personal-best of 18:55.3 and senior Amanda Bakley stopped the clock at 19:17.0. 
 
On the men's side freshman Jonathon Hrivnak led the pack, posting his own personal-best of 16:11.0 to finish 25th. Following Hrivnak was freshman Eric Warriner and sophomore Adam Billmaier, who posted personal bests of 16:21.9 and 16:39.0, respectively. 
 
Last Time at the MAC Championships
Athena Welsh set the pace for the Rockets at last season's MAC Championships, finishing second with a time of 20:37.9, a mere three seconds from the individual title winner, Eastern Michigan's Natalie Cizmas. Toledo landed four points short of the team title, taking runner up to EMU, who posted 76 points. Welsh earned First Team All-MAC honors and Claire Steigerwald earned Freshman of the Year accolades. 
 
Dismas Koech led the men, posting a time of 25:56.6 to take 46th. The men's team took 9th overall. Miami took the team trophy with a 42-point victory and Ohio's Josh Park earned the individual title. 
 
Mid-American Conference Championships
DeKalb, Ill. 
Saturday, Nov. 2
 
Schedule of Competition
11:00 a.m. (CT) -  Men's 8K 
12:00 p.m. (CT) - Women's 6K 
 
Participating Teams
Akron
Ball State (W)
Bowling Green
Buffalo
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Kent State
Miami 
Northern Illinois (W)
Ohio 
Toledo
Western Michigan (W)