It all comes to a head for the men’s and women’s cross country teams this weekend at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship, hosted by Wittenberg University.

The teams have had plenty of time for training, as they will be racing for the first time since the All-Ohio Meet on Oct. 11. Under new head coach Jason Hudson, the teams have competed in fewer meets this year than in the past.

“It’s a mixed bag,” junior Adam Greeney said of the reduced schedule. “It means we’ve been able to fit in more workouts, but we’ve had fewer opportunities to work on our racing.”

The men’s team received 51 points in the NCAC Pre-Championship Coaches’ Poll, while the women received 66, including a first-place vote, predicting sixth and third place finishes for the Oberlin teams, respectively.

Allegheny was picked to finish first, receiving seven first-place votes, on both the men’s and the women’s side.

“It looks like the top three spots are shored up,” Greeney said of the men’s side, with Kenyon and Denison ranked second and third, “but it looks like the middle teams are all pretty comparable, so we’re hoping to finish fourth.”

The men’s team has performed well in the one through three scoring spots this year, but has been working on bring the final two spots up to that level.

“They’re looking strong. It’s hard to predict how they’ll do. Our sixth runner has made quite a jump. It gives our team a bit more depth. I think they’ll [four through six] be the key to the meet.”

On the women’s side, Denison finished second in the poll tally, but without receiving any first-place votes. Oberlin and Kenyon each received a first-place vote. The Oberlin women have had a solid top five the whole season, anchored by top runner, senior Laura Feeney, and should have an excellent shot at giving Allegheny a run for its money.