The men’s cross country team will compete with thirty-two teams from all over the nation at the NCAA National Cross Country  in Winneconne, Wisconsin at 12 p.m on Nov. 20.
Captain Keith Sands has been working for this goal since coming here his freshman year.
“We’ve been close for a lot of years now,” Sands said. “To finally make it senior year at home just feels right.”
Head coach Paul Olsen had high expectations for the team at the meet.
“ Our goal isn’t just to get there,” said Olsen, “ If you end up in the top twenty of the nation, you are really good, but we’ve got a goal higher than that.”
“I am very excited about making it to nationals,” Sands said.  “We are hoping for a top ten finish.”
The team has been training for two weeks now, having a more relaxed schedule to prepare for the meet.
“Fresh legs, eager mind,” Olsen said. “It means the workouts are shorter, faster, and (fewer longer runs).”
Sands is hoping the team will be able to use the momentum from their performance at the Regional Meet at the Saukie Golf Course.
“We ran great at regionals”, said Sands, “but the exciting thing is that we know we can still do better and we’ve been getting better every race and we are confident that that trend will continue.”
Olsen believes that there are runners on the team who have a good chance of becoming All-American.
“ I think we have guys that have a shot in being All-American, the top 35 of the nation,” Olsen said.