Cross Country | 11/5/2015 1:35:00 PM

ELLENSBURG, Wash (Nov. 5) – The Central Washington University cross country team will travel to Monmouth, Ore. this Saturday (Nov. 7) to compete in the NCAA Division II West Regional set to be held at Ask Creek Preserve.

The meet will begin at 10 a.m. with the women's heat.

"People are looking strong and we have continued to build momentum since GNAC's," Head Coach Kevin Adkisson said.  "We hope this is translating into confidence, and most of them seem pretty calm as the week has moved forward, but I know there is always a bit of nervousness as this final effort approaches, especially sometimes for the ones who really have something at stake like the ladies.  We really try to emphasize that they focus on the aspects of the race under their personal control and believe that their best effort is all that is needed, and nothing crazy or different needs to be done from a tactical standpoint."

The Wildcats will look to earn a bid into the NCAA National Championships which will take place Nov. 21 in Joplin, Mo. Last season, the women's took fifth place at reginals ,edging Western Washington University en route to an 18^th place finish at Nationals.

Leading the women's team will be Dani Eggleston. She has consistently been the Wildcats frontrunner for the bulk of the season. Megan Rogers and Erin Chincar will be right on her tail as Central Washington boasts a strong trio of runners.

"The strength of our top runners will be a big key again this year," Adkisson said. "Dani, Connie, and Megan finishing 10, 13, 14 last year essentially sealed the team into a top-five finish.  There is definitely the chance to have another group of three in the top 15 if all goes well for Dani, Erin, and Megan."

Chincar has been battling a heel injury for the past month, but Adkisson says she is on track to contend for top spot

Freshman Alexa Shindruk is coming off an impressive where she finished 11^th at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. The Wildcats will also look for strong performances from Stephanie Rexus and Hannah Dowdell who both placed in the top 45 two weekends ago at the GNAC Championships. Dowdell and Janya Inderbitzen bring experience from last year's team as the group looks to punch its ticket back Nationals.

"The main questions now are if Alexa can continue to build on her GNAC breakthrough," Adisson said. "A similar effot [from Shindruk] to conference would do it and how close Stephanie, Hannah and Jayna can be to her to round out the scoring? Really, if everyone runs similar to Conference with Erin back in her best range, we are confiedent we can be in the hunt."

Five teams from both the men's and women's sides will earn a trip to Nationals. The top three individual runners not associated with a top-five finishing team will earn an individual berth.

"The competition for the women's team is going to be very tough," Adkisson explained. "There are quite a few teams with the runners to put them in contention for the last spot or two. Chico State and Alaska Anchorage are almost a shoe-in for the top two spots."

The biggest competition for the Wildcats will be Cal-Baptist, Western Washington and a handful of California schools Adkisson said.

Alex Martinez led the Wildcats two weeks ago at the GNAC Championships. Ron Leaf and Jonathan Lafferty followed closely behind as the three will look to give the Wildcats some top finishes this weekend for the men's team.

"The men have done a nice job of working together through the season, and they are currently all very close in overall fitness level, so it is possible to see them continue to finish in a tight pack with whoever has the best day emerging as the top finisher on the day," Adkisson said. "The main thing we will be looking for is them to work together and be aggressive over the 10-kilometer distance.  We have the chance to move up from last year's 14th place finish if we do a good job of holding onto a strong pace and maintaining the one through five spread we had a conference."

Follow @CWUAthletics or @CWU_Track for live tweet regarding the meet this weekend.